The Adventures of Ash and Aaron: Orange and Hoenn
by RedHal
Summary: AU A continuation of Johto and Kanto. In the first part, Aaron participates in the Orange League. After Aaron wins, the rest of the gang has to go home for different things. In Hoenn, Ash and Aaron are joined by Mary O'Brien and her foster brother, Ma
1. The Past and Future

I don't own Pokemon.

Here is the second (or third) part of The Adventures of Ash and Aaron that I said I'd write in the Epilogue of the first part. Sorry it took so long.

**Chapter 1: The Past and Future**

"WHHHHAAAAAAAA!"

"I can't wait to leave tomorrow." A tired Aaron Ketchem said half asleep.

"Don't you mean today? It's only 3:00 in the morning." His twin brother Ash said looking at the clock on the top bunk of their bunk bed.

"I wonder which girl it is." Ash said.

"I don't know and don't care." Aaron answered putting a pillow over his head.

Misty and Marie, Ash and Aaron's girlfriends, were sharing the guest bedroom while Andy and Brock were downstairs on the floor and couch. In other words, Ash and Aaron had no idea they had used earplugs.

"While we're up," Ash started.

"Speak for yourself." Aaron interrupted.

"You're the reason we're going back to the Orange Islands. Where do you want to begin?"

"Where you did." Aaron said simply.

"I don't think Brock would appreciate us going to Valencia Island."

"How about the first gym?"

"That sounds good. Only question is "How are we going to get there?"

"How did you?"

"I had a Lapras which is now the leader of the school or whatever you call a group of Lapras."

"Well, I have a Lapras. I'm not sure if it can fit six people, but, we can give it a shot."

"Sounds like either Mom or Dad got her quiet." Ash told his brother after a pause.

"Thank goodness." Aaron sighed taking his head out from under his pillow.

"WHHHHAAAAAAAA!"

"And there goes the other one." Ash said as he joined his brother putting his head under the pillow.

0000

That morning the boys were the last to rise.

"Good morning sleepyheads." Misty said cheerfully to the twin brothers.

"How is it you're not tired?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

"A genius somewhere came up with the greatest invention in the world. It's called: the Earplug." Marie told him.

"We completely forgot we had them." Aaron said slapping his head.

"At least you're not banging your head against the wall like you were this morning." Ash told him.

"Why did he do that?" Andy asked.

"He didn't say. He got a headache when I asked." Ash told him.

"Remember when we first met?" Aaron asked his brother, "And you asked if I had ever heard of you?"

"Yeah?" Ash said.

"I was thinking about that last night and I put two and two together this morning. We have heard of you."

"We have?" Andy asked.

Instead of answering, Aaron went over to his backpack and handed some old newspapers to Andy.

**ST. ANNE SINKS**

and

**MORE SURVIORS OF THE S.S. ANNE**.

"Remember when the six of us when on the St. Anne II? I even forgot there _were_ survivors" Aaron asked his friend.

"Oh yeah." Andy realized.

"And also on the S.S. Aqua." Marie remembered. "Remember?"

Flashback:

"_So, what's the deal with the snow?" Andy asked._

"_Apparently, there is a disturbance in the balance of nature in the middle of the Orange Islands. Professors Oak and Ivy are going there to investigate." Marie told him_

"_What about Professor Elm?" Aaron asked._

"_Not to my knowledge. I guess there are some professors on hold."_

"_Has anyone seen Static?" Aaron asked all of a sudden._

"_No. I thought he was with you." Marie said._

"_Like I'd take an electric pokemon to the shower with me. Especially one that hates to get wet." Aaron told her._

_0000_

"_There you are." Aaron said to his pokemon which was on deck._

"_Pi Pikachu pika." (I have to go to Shamuti)_

"_Why?" _

"_Pikachu pika pi chu ka" (The Beast of the Sea. I have to see if I can help the Chosen One)_

"_Excuse me Captain?" Aaron asked the captain as he passed._

"_Yes Kid?"_

"_How long would it take to get to Shamuti?"_

"_About 2 weeks worth of traveling in good weather day and night" the captain told him._

"_Sorry Static. But by the time we get there, all the action will be over."_

"_Chu." (But I need to go)_

"_I'm sure the "Chosen One" can handle it." Marie said coming from behind. "If this is that legend."_

"_What legend?" Andy asked._

"_Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice, or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which the clash. Though the great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, thus the earth shall turn to ash. Oh Chosen One. Into thine hands bring together all three. The treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea. From the trio of islands, ancient spheres shall you take for between life and death, all the difference you'll make. Climb to the shrine to right what is wrong, and the world will be healed by the guardian's song" she said super fast._

"_Wow. You sure know your legends." Aaron stated._

"_I hope it's not that legend. The Earth turning to ash? Scary thought." Andy said_

End Flashback

Another Flashback

"_I hope that woman found her son alright." Marie said_

"_What woman?" Aaron asked._

"_There was this woman on the broadcast. Her son and his friends were in the area where the epicenter of the weird weather was."_

"_Let me guess." Andy said, "The boy's name was Ash?"_

"_I think so. Why?"_

"_He has all the fun." Aaron complained._

End Flashback

"Oh yeah." Aaron remembered.

"And in Vermillion." Andy added. "Nurse Joy mentioned a trainer who refused to evolve his Pikachu and the Pikachu gave a long speech about how it was going to beat that Raichu."

"Pi Pikachu" (I was that Pikachu)

"And Erika got me mix up with you." Aaron told his brother.

"And in Cerulean." Marie added. "Misty, your sisters mentioned you."

"Why am I not surprised?" Misty sighed.

"And in Pewter." Andy mentioned, "Your Dad mentioned you Brock."

"I didn't think we would be that famous." Brock said placing stacks of pancakes in front of the trainers.

"And I wouldn't really consider some of the stuff we went through "fun"." Ash told his brother.

"Compared to what I've been up to, it was." Aaron said.

"Good morning." Delia said coming in carrying one of her daughters.

"Morning Mom." The boys said.

"And good morning to you Emily." Marie said in a squeaky voice (like how someone would talk to a baby).

Emily just responded in gibberish.

Just then, Dan came down with Elizabeth.

"Hello Lizzy." Misty greeted the baby the same way as Marie.

"So you guys are leaving for the Orange Archipelago today, right?" Dan asked.

Brock paled at this.

"Yeah. Aaron needs to catch up on the leagues." Ash said.

"Don't worry Brock. We're not going to Valencia." Aaron told the breeder.

Daniel gave his wife a look.

"He won't say." She whispered to her husband.

TBC


	2. The First Badge

**Chapter 2: The First Badge**

The trainers left Pallet and took a ferry to Seafoam Island. From there, they decided to see if Aaron's Lapras can hold them all. Thankfully, she could.

"We were very lucky." Marie said.

"Yeah. Good job Lapras" Aaron agreed.

"Lapras" (Thanks)

"Just like old times." Misty mused.

"Speak for yourself." Brock said.

"I keep forgetting you weren't with us. This is going to be fun." Ash said to the Brock.

"That's right. These people don't know about the twins' thing." Andy laughed.

"Maybe we should go see Professor Ivy…"Marie started.

"NOOOOOO!"

SPLASH

"Ok. It was just a suggestion." Marie called to Brock when he came up for air after jumping off the Pokemon.

Ash and Aaron quietly laughed.

"What is so funny?" Misty asked.

"I know what's wrong with Brock." Ash said.

"We got Professor Elm to give us her phone number, and we called her." Aaron added.

"What?" Misty asked inching closer to the twins

"Turns out, she's already married. Brock found out the hard way as he walked in on them." Ash told her.

"Oh my goodness. Is THAT what all this is about?" she asked.

The twins nodded.

"We even talked to him. I think his name was Edward"

Brock decided to climb back on Lapras at that moment with Andy and Marie's help.

"What are you three talking about?" Brock asked.

"Nothing." The trio said.

0000

"LAND HO!" Andy shouted.

"What island is that?" Aaron asked.

"Beats me." Ash told him.

"It looks like Maikan Island." Misty said.

Brock breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, who wants to go to the gym and who wants to hit the beach?" Andy asked.

"BEACH!" they all yelled.

"You have a gym battle." Marie told her boyfriend.

0000

Aaron had decided to go to the gym alone and he'd meet up with the others later. Ash would have gone with him, but Misty needed his help to keep Brock under control (Beach equals swimsuits).

"There's the gym Static." Aaron said to his Pokemon

"Pi" (Yep)

SPLASH

A bucket of water came down on Aaron and Static.

"Who did that?"

"Ha Ha. Got you again." A boy yelled from a tree.

"This was the first time." Aaron told the boy.

"Really? I could have sworn…"

"What are you doing out here?" a woman came out of the gym.

"Hi Sis. I was just playing a prank and he must have amnesia." The boy told his sister while pointing at Aaron.

"I don't have amnesia. I'm Ash's twin brother, Aaron." Aaron told them.

"He never mentioned a brother." The woman said.

"Well, we didn't know each other then." Aaron said.

"Tell me more." She said.

Aaron told her about the meeting and the switch. When he finished, she laughed.

"Who'd have thought it? I'm sure you came here to challenge me." She said.

"You?"

"Yes. I'm Sissy. The gym leader of Maikan Island."

"Well then, you were right. I did come here to challenge you."

"Just to let you know, things work a little differently on the Orange Islands than the other leagues. Did Ash explain it to you?"

"Yeah."

0000

A few minutes later,

"C'mon Brock. You need to get away." Misty said as she and Ash pulled Brock to a private beach away from the girls in the bikinis.

"NOOOOOO! Must. Talk. To. Pretty. Girls." Brock said with his arms stretched out towards the public beach.

"Too bad Officer Jenny wasn't out today." Andy moped.

"Please." Marie sighed.

"Uh oh." Ash said looking out towards the ocean. "This probably wasn't the best place to bring Brock."

"Why do you say that?" Marie asked.

"Misty? Remember who the gym leader of the island is?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

"Yeah. It's…oh. But what does that have to do with anything"

Ash pointed out into the open ocean where two dots were making a U-turn and heading straight for them.

"Great. We just HAD to choose the beach by the gym." Misty said sarcastically.

0000

On the water,

Aaron knew he'd have to win this race that was Blastoise vs. Lapras. The badge was at stake. When he looked ahead as he rode his pokemon, he remembered something he had learned: water freezes into ice.

"LAPRAS! USE ICE BEAM TO MAKE AN ICE PATH TO THE SHORE!"

Lapras did just that.

"NOW JUMP ONTO IT!"

Lapras did and Aaron went right past Sissy. However, he had forgotten about the lack of friction on ice.

"Ok Lapras. You can slow down now." Aaron said a little nervous due to the speed.

"La!" (I can't)

"Oh boy." Aaron said to himself.

As he got closer to the shore, he started to notice people. However, they were too far away to recognize who they were.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" he yelled at them.

0000

"I think maybe there's not enough friction on that ice." Marie said.

"We might want to move." Misty added as she pushed Brock out of the way.

The quintet moved out of the way just in time. Lapras was stopped by the sand, but since Aaron was not holding on, Newton's first law (the one about when an object is in motion, it stays in motion unless a force acts upon it) was put into play. The cliff stopped him.

"Ouch." His brother and friends said as they bared witness.

"Nice race." Sissy said as she came up.

She walked up to Ash holding the badge.

"Here. You earned this."

"Thanks?" Ash said.

Unsure of what to do, he held out his hand.

"I'll take this." Aaron said intercepting the badge.

"Whoa." Sissy said realizing her mistake. "Sorry about that. I was not prepared for this."

"Didn't you tell her?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. But I also told her that you guys would be at the public beach." Aaron answered.

"We were, but Brock went a little too crazy." Ash told him looking towards Brock.

Brock was drooling over Sissy (not literally).

"Hi. My name's Brock." He said with hearts in his eyes.

"Um. I'm Sissy."

"Sissy. What a beautiful name."

Aaron looked over to Ash who was having a nonverbal conversation with Misty over who should handle this.

"C'mon." Ash said when the conversation was over. "Let's get you cooled down."

"Ow Ash. Not the ear!"

"Is he always like this?" Sissy asked.

"More than you want to know." The rest of the group answered.

"Where's Tracey?" She asked Misty.

"He's Professor Oak's lab assistant now." Misty explained.

"Lucky him."

TBC


	3. Pink, Pink, and More Pink

I Don't Own Pokemon.

**Chapter 3: Pink, Pink, and More Pink**

Misty wanted to try something out. She had let her Tentacruel out of the Pokeball and now Ash, Pikachu, Togepi, Brock, and Misty were riding on it right along side Lapras

"This wasn't such a bad idea." Ash told his girlfriend.

"This is the life." She sighed.

"And it takes some stress off of Lapras too." Aaron observed.

"Is it just me, or is the current getting stronger?" Brock asked.

He was right. When the two groups looked ahead,

"WHIRLPOOLS!"

"And we're heading straight for them!" Marie said.

"Togepriii" (I'm scared)

"Everything's going to be alright Togepi." She soothed the baby. "Tentacruel! Can you get out of the current?"

"Tenta" (No. It's too strong)

"How about you Lapras?" Aaron asked.

"Lapras" (No)

"Hold on! It's going to be a bumpy ride!" Andy shouted

0000

A few minutes later,

"Yuck! I hate the taste of sand." Andy said as he spitted some sand out of his mouth.

"My head." Aaron complained.

"It should be fine." Marie teased. "It's hard enough"

"Hey!"

"Just kidding." She defended.

"Where are the others?" Aaron asked.

"Maybe they went up that cliff to look around." Andy said.

"Pikachu" (Let's hope so)

0000

On another beach,

"Where are Aaron, Marie, Static, and Andy?" Ash asked

"Maybe they went on ahead." Brock suggested.

"And leave us?" Misty asked.

"Let's explore some. Maybe we can find them." Ash said.

"Pikachu" (I hope so)

0000

"There is something weird about that Rhyhorn." Aaron said not quite placing what was odd about the pokemon that was a good 20 feet from him.

Marie and Andy were just starring at the Pokemon not believing their eyes.

"How in the world is that even possible?" Marie asked.

"Care to explain?" Aaron asked her.

"Check your pokedex and compare the picture to the real thing." Andy told him.

"Rhyhorn. The Spikes Pokemon. It doesn't care if there is anything in its way. It just charges and destroys all obstacles."

"I'd hate to be in its way." Aaron said.

"Now look at the picture. What color is it?" Andy said.

"Gre…y" Aaron said looking at the picture and then at the Rhyhorn.

"But that one is pink." He said figuring it out.

"Uh huh." His two friends nodded.

"How in the world is that even possible?" Aaron asked.

"I just said that." Marie said.

"I think we should leave that Rhyhorn alone." Andy suggested.

"Good idea. We need to find the others"

0000

"Look! That Mankey is pink. And so is that Caterpie." Brock was pointing out the pink pokemon.

"That's why this place is called PINKan Island." Misty told him.

"So THAT'S where we are." Brock said.

Ash then nudged her and pulled out two Pokeballs.

"Watch." He whispered to her and quietly released the two Pokemon

"Hey guys. You want to play a prank on Brock?" Ash whispered to the two.

Ash sent the two into the bushes and told them to pop out in front of Brock.

When they did,

"Look guys! A pink Jigglypuff and a pink Male Nidoran!"

Ash, Misty, and Pikachu laughed at this. Everything went exactly as Ash thought.

"Good…job…guys." Ash said while laughing.

"Jiggly" (Thanks)

"Ran" (Yeah)

"Real funny." Brock said realizing the prank.

"Geez Brock…" Misty said laughing, "I'd…have…thought you…of all people…would be able to tell that male Nidorans and Jigglypuffs were always…pink."

"Return! Thanks guys" Ash recalled the pokemon

00000

"AAAAGGGGHHH!"

"What is it Andy?" Marie asked.

"Aaron! I think there's something wrong with Static! This island is cursed!"

"What are you talking…about?" Aaron asked as he looked down at his Pikachu.

"Pika?" (What?)

Static was eating a berry and its cheeks and tail had turned a pale pink.

"Change of nickname." Aaron told the pokemon. "You are now Pinkachu."

"Pika?" (What?)

Static turned and saw his tail

"PIIKKAAA!" (AAGGHHH!")

"It has to be the berries." Marie said looking at the half eaten berry.

"Is it permanent?" Aaron asked.

"As long as Static doesn't live off of these, then no." she informed him.

"Whew." The boys and Pikachu sighed (of course Static was in Pikachunese or whatever you call it)

"Is everyone alright?" a very familiar female voice came from behind.

"Hello Officer Jenny." Andy said.

"Calm down Andy." Aaron told his friend. "Hi. I'm Aaron and these are my friends."

"Nice to meet you. Now, what are you three doing on Pinkan Island?"

"We were caught in the whirlpools." Aaron told her.

"Pikan Island?" Marie asked. "No way. I've heard about this place, but I'd never thought I'd ever actually come here."

"Well, since it was an accident, I'll let you off with a warning. This is a Pokemon preserve. And I see your Pikachu had a berry." Officer Jenny said to them noticing the pink cheeks and tail.

"Chu" (Sorry)

"IS it permanent?" Marie asked.

"Not unless his diet consists of nothing but Pinkan berries." She informed.

"Yes! I was right!"

"Marie, we have more important issues." Aaron told his girlfriend. "Have you seen my brother and his friends?"

"You can't miss them." Andy added. "His brother looks exactly like him."

"What these two mean Officer Jenny," Marie informed her, "As anyone besides Andy declared his undying love for you?"

"I'm sorry. I haven't seen them. But why don't we head down to the station?" she offered.

0000

Outside a building,

"Finally. A familiar sight." Misty said.

"Well, if the others are anywhere, they're here." Ash added.

"Why's that?" Brock asked.

"Andy." They two younger trainers said.

"Let's go inside and see if they're here yet." Ash said.

0000

"Hello?" Ash and Misty called.

"I guess they're not here." Brock said.

"We'll wait for them. Jenny is really good at detecting were trespassers are."

"Jenny?" Brock asked as his face lit up.

"Yeah. But she did miss us."

"Probably because she went after the others."

"We probably should hold Brock down when she gets here." Misty realized when she saw the breeder with the familiar glint in his eyes.

"Probably. Or…" Ash agreed before whispering something in Pikachu's ear.

"Pikachu" (Good idea)

"I don't think I want to know what you two are up to." Misty said noticing the grin on Pikachu's face.

Just then, they heard a jeep pull up.

"And there's Officer Jenny now." Ash said with a grin.

"OFFICER JENNY!" Brock went running to the door.

"Pikachu?" Ash said turning to the yellow pokemon.

0000

Outside,

"Nice station." Marie told the police woman.

"Thanks. It's not much, but it's just enough." Jenny told her.

"OFFICER JENNY!" a voice called from the station.

"PPPPIIIIKKKKAAAACCHHHHHUUUUUU!"

"Sounds like my brother beat us here." Aaron said with a smile.

0000

When Aaron and Co. got inside the station, they were greeted by a charred Brock and a laughing Ash, Misty, and Pikachu. Aaron, Andy, Static, and Marie joined in.

"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Jenny said recognizing Ash and Misty.

"Hi Officer Jenny. Sorry for the intrusion." Misty said.

"These guys have already informed me of the situation. I guess I'd better get the boat geared up."

"Thanks."

TBC


	4. Showboat

**Chapter 4: Showboat**

After Officer Jenny dropped our heroes off on another island, they decided to see if there were any ferries leaving so they could give their Pokemon some rest. There was one ferry, which was a showboat.

"C'mon guys." Marie said. "Let's go check it out."

"Sure. Why not?" Aaron said.

"There isn't a deadline for the Orange League." Misty stated.

"What are we waiting for?" Ash said as he headed towards the showboat.

0000

"You can't beat me." The Machoke said

"Watch me. I fight for the love of Clefable." Hitmonchan told the other fighting pokemon

"Be careful." The female Fairy Pokemon told her "lover".

Andy, Brock, Marie, and Aaron were watching the talking pokemon wide-eyed. Ash and Misty smiled at each other knowingly.

The Hitmonchan knocked out the Machoke with a focus punch. The Machop counted and Hitmonchan was declared the winner. The Clefable ran to Hitmonchan and they held hands.

"I love you so much Clefable." The Hitmonchan told her.

"And I you." She replied.

Brock started to cry at this point. When Ash and Misty saw him, they laughed quietly. They looked at the others and saw that Andy was joining Brock in the waterworks and Marie was really getting into it. Aaron was indifferent.

Just then, a Raichu came onto stage carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"These are for the winner of the competition. Congratulations."

"Thank you young Raichu. I would like to present these flowers to the love of my life: Clefable" the Hitmonchan announced.

"Oh Hitmonchan." The Clefable sighed as she hugged him.

Brock and Andy were now sobbing.

"Why can't I find love like that?" Brock sobbed.

"We've got to hook him up with someone." Ash whispered to his girlfriend.

"Yeah. In fact, we need to keep an eye out for her."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when we went into the future? Well, the older me told me that Brock will get a girlfriend in the next three years. I think I said her name was Christine." Misty told him.

"Do you know how weird you sounded just now?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. Very. Time travel is confusing." She whispered.

"Thank you for coming." The Raichu announced to the audience.

Just then, a whole line of pokemon that were in the show came out and started dancing.

0000

After the show, the gang hung around the boat and looked around. Ash and Misty, having already been on the boat, decided to stay on the deck.

"Do you think we'll see Kay again?" Misty asked.

"Well, we saw her Raichu." Ash stated.

"Rai Rai" (Hi guys)

"Pi Pikachu" (Hi Raichu)

"See." Ash pointed at the Raichu.

"Raichu! There you are." A red head with pigtails came running to the two electric pokemon.

"Hi Kay." The two lovebirds stated.

"Hi guys. It's been a while." Kay said recognizing the two.

"Yeah. It's been, what, almost three years" Misty said.

"I heard you two got together." Kay said.

"Don't tell us you were in on the bet too." Ash whined.

"You heard about it?" Kay asked nervously.

Misty nodded. "My sisters accidentally blabbed."

"Oh well. How's Tracey?"

"He's fine. He's now Professor Oak's assistant." Ash told her.

"That's great." She said. "So what brings you two back to the Orange Islands?"

"Just training with Aaron." Ash said.

"A new friend?" Kay asked.

"I think when you see him you'll understand." Misty said.

"There you two are." A voice came from behind Kay.

"Hi Aaron. How'd you like the boat?" Ash asked.

"Very nice. Whoever owns it does a good job keeping up with it." Andy said.

Kay turned around and almost screamed.

"Aaron. This is Kay. She's the one who plays the voice of Raichu. Kay. This is my twin brother Aaron." Ash introduced.

"Twin?"

"I thought there were humans backstage." Marie spoke up.

"Hold on." Kay said. "What's going on?"

0000

It made more sense to Kay once the story was relayed.

"Ok. That explains everything." She said calming down.

"I love your Raichu." Marie said.

"Thanks. Now that I'm no longer scared of it, we perform perfectly."

"You were scared of your own Pokemon?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah." She admitted

"But she got over her fear." Ash mentioned.

"You know, I'm beginning to see a pattern." Misty said.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Whenever a pokemon doesn't trust a trainer, the trust comes when the trainer saves the pokemon's life."

"Like how I saved Raichu." Kay said.

"And Ash saved Pikachu, Charizard, Chikorita, and then again when it was a Bayleef, Primeape, Squirtle, Phanpy, Lapras, Larvitar,…" Misty continued.

"I think they get the point." Ash interrupted.

"That is a very interesting theory." Marie said. "I'll look into it one day."

"Hey Kay. Think the showboat can give us a ride to the next island?" Andy asked.

"Sure." Kay said.

"Has anyone seen Brock?" Misty asked.

0000  
Brock had been found declaring his love for a girl who was in the audience. Misty walked up to him and dragged him away.

"C'mon Loverboy. We've got a ride to the next island."

TBC


	5. Misty's Battle

**Chapter 5: Misty's Battle**

After the gang got the ride from the Showboat actors, they rested some on an island. While they were resting, a Golduck showed up and started showing off for Misty and Marie.

"Aw. Isn't it cute?" Marie said.

Misty only looked at Ash and rolled her eyes.

"Misty can only be fooled once." Ash said.

"It does this to all girls." Misty told Marie.

"Oh."

Just then, a group of girls walked by and the Golduck went to go show off. Brock would have gone as well if Ash and Aaron weren't gripping him by the shoulders.

"Seems like that Golduck was a Pokemon version of Brock." Andy said.

"That's what I said." Misty told him.

"MISTY!" a female voice called.

"MARINA" Misty called back

The two girls ran up to each other and shook hands.

"It's been awhile." Misty said.

"Yeah. How are things going besides you getting a boyfriend?" Marina asked.

"The bet?"

"You heard?"

"My sisters blabbed." Misty explained. "But, everything's going fine."

"That's good. You want to have a rematch?"

"You bet." Misty said.

0000

Misty surprised Marina by calling out Golduck which had gotten better about popping out.

"Wow Misty! Your Psyduck finally evolved!" Marina told her.

"Yeah. It happened during the Whirl Cup last year."

"You were in the Whirl Cup? I've always wanted to participate."

"Actually, I was in it two years in a row. I won it last year when Psyduck evolved."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Are those two ever going back to the battle?" Aaron asked his brother.

"Who knows?" Ash answered.

The girls continued talking about the Whirl Cup when they were supposed to be battling.

"Eh HEM!" the twins cleared their throats.

"Am I seeing double?" Marina asked finally noticing the twins.

"Not really. Forgive me. Marina, these are Brock, Andy, Marie, and Ash's twin brother, Aaron. Guys, this is Marina. She's a fellow Water Pokemon Master in Training." Misty introduced them.

"Hi." Marina greeted them.

"Is that why you interrupted our conversation?" Misty asked her boyfriend.

"No. Your conversation interrupted the battle." Ash told her.

The two water pokemon trainers looked at each other.

"Oh yeah." The said simultaneously. "GOLDUCK/ TENTACREUL! HYDRO PUMP!" They both shouted.

The hydro pumps hit each other and broke apart after a few minutes. Eventually, Golduck won.

"Wow Misty. You've gotten stronger." Marina said.

"Thanks. So have you." Misty told her friend.

"So, where are you off to now?"

"Navel Island. Aaron is participating in the Orange League."

"Good luck" Marina told him.

0000

A few days later,

"Here we are." Ash told the group. "Navel Island."

"I wonder if Danny is still the leader." Misty said in a dreamy voice.

"Don't even." Ash warned her.

"You think this is bad," she told him. "Imagine Trovita."

Ash paled and grabbed her hand in a very similar manner to how she did it during the Silver Conference the second time.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there." Andy said.

When the group got to the gym, they found Danny.

"Hello. Welcome to Navel Island." Danny welcomed them.

That was when he did the double take on the twins.

"Huh? How?"

"Twins." Ash and Aaron said at the same time.

"That explains it. I take it you are here to get your badge." Danny said pointing at Ash

"No. He is." Ash corrected pointing at Aaron.

"Well, in that case, you five can take the lift. I'll explain everything to Aaron." Danny said.

"We'll see you up there bro." Ash said with a grin.

0000

At the lodge,

"Let me get this straight." Marie said. "Aaron has to make it to the top of the cliff, WITHOUT Pokemon?"

"Yes." Ash and Misty confirmed.

"There they are." Brock pointed out Danny and Aaron.

Marie went running.

"Aaron! Are you alright?" She asked her boyfriend

"I'm fine Marie. Nothing too difficult." Aaron said.

"Pika?" (Are you sure?) Static had gone with the others.

"Yes Static. I've gone rock-climbing before."

0000

After Aaron won the freezing contest and Danny won the sculpting contest, it was now time for the race. Ash and the others went on down by ski lift.

They waited by the ocean.

"How far do you think Aaron will go?" Misty asked her boyfriend.

"Depends. Team Rocket hasn't been around, so I don't think they'll stop the race." Ash answered.

Just then, they heard noises. They looked up the cliff and saw Danny and Aaron neck and neck.

"Looks close." Brock observed.

However, Aaron soon took the lead and went straight passed the finish line.

After he received the badge, (Danny was a little smarter than Sissy), they decided it was time to go to Trovita.

TBC


	6. Meeting More Family

A/N: Sorry for the long amount of time between the last update and this Chapter. I've had writer's block for this story and a breakthrough for Harry Potter. But, now that I've gotten my muse for this story back, let's see how long I can go this time. Hopefully, to the end.

**Chapter 6: Meeting More Family**

After stopping to say "Hi" to old friends on Grapefruit Island (Not to mention give some people heart attacks because they didn't know about the twin thing), our heroes stopped to say "Hi" to some more old friends.

"Do you think Ralph and Emily are getting along?" Misty asked her boyfriend.

"I hope so for Tony and Maria's sakes." Ash said.

"What are you two talking about?" Brock asked.

Ash and Misty gave each other a look trying to determine if telling Brock about what had happened between the two Nidorans was a good idea.

"We were just involved in trying to get two trainers to let their Nidoran's be happy." Misty finally told Brock.

When they got to the restaurant, they, Misty and Ash, were surprised to see Ralph and Emily sitting together laughing and having a good time. Believe it or not, but they were on a date.

"I can't believe how immature we acted." Emily said.

"You said it." Ralph agreed. "I wonder whatever happened to…"

Ralph had looked up and saw the gang. Misty had an I-told-you-so smirk on her face as she looked at Ash. Ash rolled his eyes.

"I know Misty. You were right. But so was Tracey about us." Ash said.

Misty then got a glint in her eyes as she remembered something and scowled at the two younger trainers.

"Uh oh." Ralph said knowing that look.

"You don't think she knows about the bet do you?" Emily whispered.

"Hi Ralph. Emily." Ash greeted them.

"Hi guys." They said still eyeing Misty cautiously.

"You two wouldn't happen to have been involved in a certain bet concerning Ash and me would you?" Misty asked dangerously.

"Misty. Calm down." Marie said.

"From all I've heard," Andy added, "You've had it coming."

Misty turned her glare to her so-called friends.

"Anyways." Aaron said changing the subject drawing attention to himself.

Ralph and Emily did the double take. Aaron and Ash had gotten use to it by now.

"Uh." Was all the two could say.

"Ralph. Emily. Meet my twin brother, Aaron, his Pikachu: Static; and his friends Marie and Andy. And this is Brock." Ash introduced them.

"Twin brother?" they asked.

"Nice to meet you." Aaron said with a smirk.

"How are Tony and Maria?" Misty asked when she calmed down.

"See for yourselves." They said as they pulled out pokeballs.

When the pokemon were released, a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen appeared.

"They evolved." The two trainers who knew them before said.

"Yeah. And that's not all."

A few minutes later,

"Ahhh. How cute." Marie and Misty cooed.

"They look really healthy." Brock stated.

There was a baby Nidoran male and a baby Nidoran female.

0000

After the reunion with Ralph and Emily, the gang got back on the route.

"I have an idea." Misty said. "Let's stop at Shamuti and visit Slowking."

"Good idea Misty." Ash said as he gave her a small kiss and earned a groan from Andy and Brock.

0000

When they got there,

"Great." Ash said sarcastically as he saw the festival.

"Maybe this time it will be Aaron's turn." Misty told him.

"If it's not and I'm chosen again, we're switching identities again." Ash told his girlfriend.

"Unless some maniac decides to capture Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos again." Misty added.

"Then you're stuck." Marie added.

Ash and Aaron looked at each other knowingly. If a maniac tried to capture the three birds, they would just call them to the legend balls and get them away. But no one knew about that.

Just then, Misty saw Melody walking along the beach mentally preparing herself for the ceremony.

Misty whispered something to Marie and both girls pulled their boyfriends into DEEP kisses.

"Okay." Brock said unsure.

"That came out of nowhere." Andy added.

Melody had just sighted the group on the beach and raised her eyebrows knowingly.

"Talk about over-protective!" She called to Misty.

"Just letting you know!" Misty called back as Melody ran up to the group.

"Melody." Ash went on with the intros. "These are Brock, Andy, Marie, my twin brother, Aaron, and his Pikachu, Static."

"Twin brother?" Melody asked as she eyed them both, taking in their similarities.

"Yes. And he's my boyfriend as well." Marie said as she grabbed Aaron's arm.

"We've noticed the Legend Festival is going on." Ash said.

"Yes. And we're still in need of a Chosen One. Ash…"

"Use Aaron. I've done it before." Ash said quickly as he remembered his near death experience.

Everyone laughed.

"Thanks a lot" Aaron said sarcastically.

0000

At the opening festival,

Melody had performed her song and this time, everyone stayed for the party.

Ash and Aaron were naturally stuffing their faces. Marie and Misty were off attempting to control Brock and Andy as they flirted with girls. (Andy only limited himself to Jennys).

"Well, well." A very familiar voice said behind the two boys. "Look who's here at the Chosen One's Table."

The boys stopped eating to see who had spoken.

"Hi." They greeted the man standing behind them.

"I haven't seen you two since Blackthorn." Lance Knight said.

"What brings you here?" Aaron asked.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop in." Lance said. "I had just stopped by Drake's place to see how he's doing."

"How is he?" Ash asked.

"He's fine." Lance told his nephew. "And your parents?"

"Tired." Aaron said. "Emily and Elizabeth are a handful a piece."

"Do NOT tell me I have twin nieces now." Lance groaned.

"Oh yeah." The twin boys grinned.

"I am NOT babysitting. You two were bad enough."

"Tell Mom." Ash laughed. "Not us."

"I can't wait to tell my parents." Lance said with a smile

"Tell us what?" a male voice asked.

Lance paled and turned around to find a redheaded man and a brunette woman standing behind him. They were about the same ages as Sarah and Matthew Ketchem.

"Mom. Dad. Long time no see." Lance said nervously.

"Lancelot Knight, where have you been?" the woman asked dangerously.

"You know I'm one of the Elite Four, Mother." Lance said. "I've been training to keep my position."

Ash and Aaron were having such a wonderful time watching their uncle interact with their grandparents on their mother's side of the family.

"If only Marina could see her hero now." Aaron whispered. "She worships Lance."

"Have you ever told her about how you're related to him?" Ash whispered back.

"Are you kidding? She'd be on my tail all the time just to meet him. No. I try to keep my dealings with Uncle Lance a secret from her."

"So, what can't you wait to tell us?" Arthur Knight asked his son.

"Delia got back together with Dan and they have another set of twins." Lance told his father.

"Really?" Rose Knight asked. "And you keep contact with your sister, but not your parents?"

"Actually," Lance started as he moved out of the way to reveal the Ketchem twin. "These two, who are on their journey, told me."

Arthur and Rose starred at the twins as Ash and Aaron glared at their uncle.

"Sure. Just get us involved why don't you?" Ash said to his uncle.

"Yeah. Thank Uncle Lance." Aaron said in the same sarcastic tone as his brother.

"Ash? Aaron?" Rose finally asked before squishing them in a tight hug.

"Hi Grandma." They managed to say.

"So." Arthur said. "How have you two been?"

The boys went into full explanation about their journeys before meeting each other, the meeting, the switch, and what's been happening since.

"We might want to pay Delia and Dan a visit one day." Arthur mused.

"You two have girlfriends?" Rose asked with a glance at her son. She was clearly telling him that his nephews had a girlfriend before him, so he needed to get moving.

"Claire and I are _considering _going steady." Lance told his mother.

As if on cue, Misty and Marie came in dragging Brock and Andy.

"Wait for me Jenny!" Andy called.

"Usual trouble?" Aaron called to his girlfriend.

"How did you meet this guy again?" Marie asked. "And why do we even attempt to control him?"

"That bad?" Ash asked Misty.

"I can't wait till he finds his girlfriend." Misty sighed.

"Misty, Marie." Aaron realized he and Ash had some intros to make. "Meet our grandparents Arthur and Rose Knight. You've already met Uncle Lance."

"So, you two are the Misty and Marie we've heard so much about in the short time we've talked to our grandsons." Rose said.

"Yes ma'am." Misty said.

"Pikachu?" (You want the rest of that ketchup?)

"Pikachu." Ash warned.

Pikachu gave him a sad look emphasizing his brown eyes.

Ash sighed.

"Here." He caved.

"Pika Pikapi" (Thanks Ash)

Pikachu ran off with the bottle to where Static was and they split the ketchup.

"Yours?" Arthur asked.

"Not only that," Aaron answered. "But our firsts."

0000

After the festival, and saying "Hi" to the birds, our heroes decided to talk to Slowking.

"Hello?" Ash called.

"Ah. Ash, Misty. It's good to see you again." The pokemon said.

"It talks." Andy said.

"And not telepathically." Marie added

"Yes. And you four must be Brock, Andy, Marie, and Aaron." Slowking said acknowledging them.

"Yes." Brock said.

"The Great Guardian, Lugia, informed me of your existences." Slowking explained.

TBC

A/N: Again, sorry it took so long. These next few chapters will be hard to write since it's been a while since I've seen the Orange League episodes. The Orange League will go by quickly. All of the action happens in Hoenn.


	7. One Step Closer

**Chapter 7: One Step Closer**

After the side trip to Shamuti, the gang stopped by Trovatopolis. The mutant Bulbasaur had evolved into an Ivysaur. They then took the ferry to Trovita Island.

"Hey Ash." Aaron said. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm trying to figure out if Rudy had heard about the bet before we met him and tried to get me to realize my feelings for Misty," Ash explained. "Or if he really did like her in that way."

"You never know." Aaron told his brother.

"We're here." Ash said suddenly as he spotted the island.

When the gang got off, they headed to the gym.

"Hey Ash."

"Yeah Misty."

"Do you want to grab a bite to eat while Aaron does the test?"

"What test?" Aaron asked stopping in his tracks in a panic.

"It's just a little target practice." Ash explained. "We've been working on those during the midnight training sessions. Remember?"

"Oh yeah." Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't mind if you and Misty want some time alone." He winked at Ash

"What was that wink for?" Misty asked Aaron dangerously.

"He's just teasing." Ash said trying to calm his girlfriend down.

0000

When Ash and Misty went on their little date, the rest of the gang went to the gym. Brock was taking care of Togepi and Static and Pikachu were both on Aaron's shoulder.

"Well." A male voice said. "Look who's back. How's it going Ash?"

"I…"

"Hi Ash." A little girl came running in. "Where's Misty?"

"Good question Mauri." Her brother said.

"Misty is on a date with Ash." Brock explained.

The gym leader looked confused.

"This might help." Aaron stated. "My name is Aaron Ketchem. Ash is my twin brother."

"Oh yeah. That does help. I'm the gym leader: Rudy."

"Nice to meet you." The gang said.

"You said something about a date." Rudy said to Brock. "So the rumors are true?"

"Oh yeah. And they know about the bet." Brock said.

Rudy winced. "I bet Misty wasn't too happy."

"No." Brock said shivering. "I'm still waiting for her to get me in my sleep."

"Are you guys in on the Engagement bet?" Mauri asked. "My big brother is."

"We may travel with them." Andy explained. "But, we also value our lives."

0000

"So, do you think Rudy was in on the bet?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

"I wouldn't put it past him." Misty said as she sipped her milkshake.

"Hey guys!" Aaron said as he walked in after the target practice and sat next to Misty. "I battle Rudy tomorrow morning."

"Great! That means you passed his test." Ash congratulated his brother.

"It was easy." Aaron said.

"Then Rudy wasn't flirting with Marie I take it." Ash stated.

"No. He was in on the bet." Marie said as she sat down next to Misty.

"I **knew** it." Misty said dangerously.

0000

The next day,

"YOU WERE IN ON THE BET!?" Misty yelled at the gym leader as she stormed into the gym.

"It's great to see you two again too." Rudy greeted Ash and Misty.

"Don't change the subject!" she yelled. "You tried to hook Ash and me up before we were ready! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"You two lost me $50. I think I suffered enough." Rudy said.

"FIFTY DOLLARS?!"

"The highest bet was $1000." Maurie said.

"Who placed THAT?" Ash asked.

"I have no clue." Maurie told them.

0000

About an hour later,

The score was tied. Static won a battle against an Electabuzz, but Tyrouge, well, Hitmonlee now, lost a good battle against a Hitmonchan after evolving .

"You were great Hitmonlee." Aaron told his Pokemon.

"Now the trainers will use Normal Types." The announcer said.

"GO PIDGEOT!" Rudy said as he called out his Pokemon.

"EEVEE! I CHOOSE YOU!"

"Eevee!" (I'm ready Aaron!)

"EEVEE! SHADOW BALL!" Aaron shouted.

Eevee did as Aaron commanded.

"DODGE IT!" Rudy shouted.

Pidgeot did.

"Rats." Aaron said.

"QUICK ATTACK!" Rudy shouted.

"COUNTER IT WITH YOUR OWN QUICK ATTACK!" Aaron shouted.

The two Pokemon did and both would have ended up with headaches if Pidgeot wasn't so much bigger.

"EEVEE!" Aaron cried. "Can you get up?"

Eevee started to struggle to stand up. Just then, it started glowing white and growing.

"Eevee?" Aaron asked.

"It's evolving." Ash whispered to Misty.

"Breon." (Let's finish this.)

"It's an Umbreon." Marie said.

"Umbreon. The Moonlight Pokemon. When darkness falls, the rings on the body begin to glow, striking fear in the hearts of anyone nearby." Ash's Pokedex was activated.

"UMBREON! FEINT ATTACK!" Aaron yelled.

A few minutes later, the battle was over.

"Pidgeot is unable to battle. The battle goes to Aaron Ketchem!"

"YES! WE DID IT! UMBREON! I HAVE THE BEST TEAM EVER!" Aaron yelled as he hugged his pokemon.

"Breon." (I know).

TBC


	8. Sick

**Chapter 8: Sick**

"Three down. One to go." Aaron said as he admired his badges.

"I hate déjà vu." Misty said.

"Get used to it." Ash said. "Because we're going to see it until we get back to Pallet."

"There it is." Andy said pointing to the land. "Hey Ash? Is there an Officer Jenny?"

"I don't know." Ash told him. "Probably."

"Hehe." Andy and Brock said with those looks on their faces.

"Don't even." Misty and Marie warned.

"Hey Aaron." Ash said. "Before we meet up with the Gym Leader, do you want to practice? It will help."

"Well." Aaron said. "What do you think Static?"

"Pi pika chu." (I guess practice couldn't hurt)

"All right." Aaron said.

0000

On the beach of Kumquat Island,

"EEVEE! YOU USE QUICK ATTACK! BEYLEEF! USE RAZOR LEAF!"

"DODGE THEM UMBREON! HITMONLEE!"

Umbreon managed to dodge but Hitmonlee took a direct hit from Razor Leaf.

Just then, Beyleef and Eevee both started to glow.

"Meganium" (I evolved).

"Eon" (We both did)

"I told you practice would help." Ash smirked.

"It helped YOU!"

"Hey. I'm also preparing you for the battle. Luana specializes in double battles."

"Good way to train two pokemon at once." Aaron observed. "Hitmonlee. Rolling kick."

"Dodge it." Ash said unfazed.

Both Pokemon did what they were told.

"So much for distracting you." Aaron sighed.

"Nice try though. Psychic Espeon!"

"I'm trying to decide if it's more fun watching the battle or listening to them talk WHILE they battle." Misty said.

"Good point." Marie agreed. "Should we stop Brock?"

Brock was hitting on girls in bikinis.

"For once, no. Let him learn the hard way." Misty said.

0000

A few hours later (the battle went to Ash),

"Excuse me." Aaron said to someone with his back turned at the front desk.

The someone turned around.

"HEY! Long time no see." Travis said.

"Hey Travis." Ash and Aaron said. "Tell us about it."

"How have you two been?"

"Fine. You?"

"Good. Mom was ecstatic to see me again."

"I bet." Ash said remembering the hug Luana gave him thinking he was Travis.

"Well, you know where the gym is." Travis said to Ash. "Go on in."

0000

After telling the story (AGAIN) to Luana, she and Aaron had their battle. Alakazam and Cubone vs. Umbreon and Static.

It was so weird for Ash to not be the one collecting the badges. But after this one, Aaron just needed to battle Drake. Then they could go home and rest up. They had heard of another league in Hoenn, so that was the next stop.

Aaron won the battle and received the Jade Star Badge.

0000

"I DID IT! PUMMELO ISLAND LOOK OUT!" Aaron said as they landed on another island.

"Please tell me I was nothing like him." Ash whispered to Misty.

"Mmm." Misty thought. "Similar, but not THAT bad."

"Whew." Ash sighed.

"So guys." Andy said. "What island is this?"

Ash and Misty looked around.

"I'm not sure." Misty answered.

"Well, we have plenty of time." Ash said. "Let's stay here and train some more."

"C'mon Bro." Aaron complained. "Let's go now while I'm still hot."

Ash and Misty looked at each other and smirked.

The next thing Aaron knew was that he was drenched from head to foot while all of Ash and Misty's water Pokemon were out. Ash, Misty, Brock, Andy, Marie, Pikachu, and Static were laughing their heads off

"Really cute." Aaron stated. "You two will pay for that."

"Should it be cash, check, or charge." Misty joked.

Within a few seconds, Aaron was joining in on the laughter.

"Okay guys." Brock said with tears in his eyes. "We should probably set up camp. That way we can get up in the morning and head on to Pummelo."

"Okay Brock."

Aaron and Static went to go look for new Pokemon that could disturb the campsite. Brock went looking for water to cook and clean with. Andy went looking for firewood. Marie, Ash, and Misty had found a cabin, so there was no need to set up the tents. Ash would have gone with Aaron, but Misty had other plans once they could think of an excuse to ditch Marie. (A/N: Cough.)

0000

"Hey Brocko."

"Hey Andy. How's the firewood coming?"

"Fine. And the water?"

Brock held up two pails of water.

"There's plenty."

"C'mon Static. Pick up the pace." Aaron's voice was heard.

Brock and Andy looked up to see the twin jogging with the Pikachu right beside him. However, Aaron did not notice the tree root that was in front of him. He tripped, fell into Brock and Andy, and the three of them fell into the bushes. Static would have laughed if he had not seen the yellow powder where his friends had fallen.

0000

"You two REALLY think I would leave you alone?" Marie asked the other two who were trying to get her to leave.

"We'll leave you and Aaron alone." Misty bribed.

"Besides," Ash added. "It's not like we're going to do anything THAT bad."

"Like trying to bring Ashley into this world sooner?" Marie suggested

"We are NOT going to do THAT!" both trainers in question answered.

"PIKACHU! PIKAPI! PIKACHUPI! PICHUKAPI!" (PIKACHU! ASH! MISTY! MARIE!)

"Static?" the three trainers looked at each other.

They opened the door of the cabin and saw a frantic Pikachu.

"Is something wrong?" Marie asked.

Just then, three stunned trainers who go by the names of Brock, Andy, and Aaron came stumbling into view.

"What happened?" Marie asked.

"We tripped fell into a Vileplume's head." Andy said.

"They breathed in stun spore." Misty realized.

"I know where we are now." Ash said.

"I…can't…move." Aaron said.

"Get them in here." Misty told Marie as she took Brock. Marie grabbed Aaron and Ash grabbed Andy.

0000

"Anything?" Marie asked after getting Aaron comfortable.

"We're out." Ash said. "All we have are bandaids and Advil."

"What now?" Marie asked looking at her sick boyfriend.

"I have an idea." Misty said. "C'mon Ash. Marie. You stay here and keep the others comfortable. I've done this before."

"Where are you two going?" Marie asked.

Misty opened the door with her boyfriend still in tow.

"We're going to find some salveha weed." Misty told her.

"Pikachu" (We're coming too)

"No." Ash said to the two Pikachus. "You stay here and help Marie."

0000

"Well, we finally managed to ditch her." Ash said as they went looking for the pool that held salveha weed. "Too bad it was under these circumstances."

"Tell me about it." Misty said. "I was ready to introduce you to the concept of French kissing."

"I know what that is, Misty." Ash told her.

"Have you ever done it?" she asked.

"No. Have you?"

"No. But my sisters have. Here we are."

They had made it to the lake where Misty found Poliwag.

"Well." Ash said as he took off his jacket. "Let's get this over with."

With that, he dove in.

"Not going to take off your t-shirt while you're at it." Misty teased him to herself just before she dove in.

Ash had been waiting for her. When she went under, she pointed to the bottom. They swam down and found the weeds. They started harvesting the plant. When they were finished picking more than enough, they swam back up.

"Whew." Misty said. "We got more than enough."

"Let's keep the rest for emergencies." Ash suggested.

"Good idea." Misty said.

Ash started laughing.

"What?"

"If you had told me four years ago that you would think one of my ideas was good, I would have told you that you were crazy."

"We were pretty hard on each other."

"We were in denial." Ash told her. "C'mon. Let's go heal my brother."

0000

When they got back, Marie was waiting for them.

"There you two are." Marie said.

"We got it." Misty said referring to her armful of the plant.

"More than enough." Ash added.

"Great." Marie sighed.

With that, they started to boil enough for the three sick trainers.

0000

"How are you feeling?" Ash asked Aaron a few minutes later.

"Great. Thanks Ash." Aaron answered.

"No problem." Ash said.

"We'll find another time." Misty whispered.

"So." Brock said. "Who's hungry?"

"I am." Ash, Aaron, and Andy answered

TBC


	9. Goodbyes

**Chapter 9: Goodbyes**

"Wow." Aaron said as the island with the giant stadium came into view.

"Was it worth the wait?" Misty asked.

"Oh Yeah." Aaron answered.

0000

After Aaron got registered to fight that afternoon, the gang looked around.

"There are sure a lot of Dragonite statues." Marie pointed out.

"That's Drake's star Pokemon." Ash informed her. "You can pretty much guarantee he'll use that last."

"What about the other five?" Aaron asked.

"Nice try." Ash said. "You have to win this just like I did."

He pointed to one of the pictures in the Hall of Fame.

The gang (minus Ash and Misty) crowded around the picture to see a younger Ash holding a trophy with Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, a Tauros, a Lapras, and Charizard crowded around him.

"So you want me to use a Pikachu, Bulbasuar, Squirtle, Tauros, Lapras, and Charizard?" Aaron teased.

"I meant with the only clue being that Drake has a Dragonite." Ash told him.

"Hey Aaron." Brock said looking at his watch. "You better get going to the stadium."

"You're right." Aaron said as he made a break for it.

"Should we be in the coach's booth, or in the stands?" Ash asked.

"Coach's booth." The rest answered.

0000

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO PUMMELO STADIUM! TODAY, DRAKE WILL BE BATTLING THE CHALLENGER AARON KETCHEM FOR THE ORANGE CUP!"

Aaron and Drake entered the stadium and walked up to each other.

"I look forward to this battle." Drake said to the younger trainer.

"You and me both." Aaron said as he shook Drake's hand.

The two trainers took their spots and each pulled out a pokeball.

"Let the battle BEGIN!" the ref said.

"DITTO GO!" Drake yelled throwing his pokeball.

"TYPHLOSION! I CHOOSE YOU!"

0000

About thirty minutes later, Drake lost five pokemon and Aaron had lost four. After Typholsion's battle with the Ditto, Aaron had called it back to save for Dragonite. Now, Drake only had Dragonite while Aaron had Typhlosion and Static. And with any luck, Aaron knew he would need both of his top Pokemon.

"DRAGONITE! GO!"

"COME ON OUT TYPHLOSION!"

The Dragonite and the Typhlosion came out. Typhlosion did inflict some damage, but Dragonite's Hyper Beam proved to be too much.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle. The round goes to Dragonite." The ref said.

"Typhlosion return." Aaron called back his pokemon. "Great job. You deserve a rest. Static."

Static left the bench next to Pikachu and ran out to the field. Pikachu was giving Static some advise

"Pikachu" (Bring it on)

Static's agility gave him a great advantage. He was dodging Hyper Beams left and right. But Aaron knew that Static was getting worn out.

"DRAGONITE! IT LOOKS WORN OUT! USE ANOTHER HYPER BEAM!"

"DODGE!" Aaron cried out.

The Hyperbeam headed towards Static who rolled onto his tail and used it as a springboard.

"Talk about déjà vu." Drake said as Static landed on Dragonite. "SHAKE IT OFF!"

"I hate deja vu." Misty said under her breath.

"C'mon Aaron. Now's your chance." Ash said to himself hoping his brother was thinking the same thing he was thinking. They've been doing that since they met, why not now.

"STATIC! USE YOUR STRONGEST THUNDER ATTACK!"

The match ended.

"DRAGONITE IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! PIKACHU WINS! THE WINNER IS AARON KETCHEM OF PALLET!"

"WE DID IT!" Aaron cheered as Static ran to his trainer.

0000

A few minutes later, the gang was back in the Hall of Fame looking at the picture of Aaron, Typhlosion, Static, Graveler, Pidgeot, Umbreon, and Bellosom. Aaron was looking at his new trophy.

"Now we head for home." Aaron said. "I can't wait to show Dad."

0000

"Now what do we do?" Brock asked. "Both of you participated in the Johto and Kanto Leagues twice and you both won the Orange Cup."

"Well." The twins said. "We were thinking of Hoenn."

"Isn't that where Greg is?" Marie asked.

"Yeah. So?" Aaron said. "I can handle him now. My family is back together, I have trophies, a girlfriend, I feel like I can take him on."

"Hoenn it is then."

0000

When they landed on Seafoam Island to give Lapras a break, they hit the Pokemon Center.

"Hi Nurse Joy." Brock said going into girl mode. "My name is Brock. How about you and I…"

"Nice try Lover Boy." Misty said tugging on his ear.

"Not the ear Misty." Brock said.

"Excuse me? Are you two Brock and Misty?" Nurse Joy asked. "I have some messages for you."

"Huh?" everyone asked.

"I also have messages for an Andy and a Marie."

The gang looked at each other and received the messages. Ash and Aaron decided to leave their friends to see what their families wanted.

0000

"What do you think is wrong?" Ash asked.

"I don't know." Aaron said just as worried.

Just then Misty joined the boys.

"Misty?" Ash said when he noticed her sad face. "What's wrong?"

"Well, my parents went back to do their tour thing that comes with being a Water Pokemon Master."

"Your sisters have been in charge of the gym before." Ash told her.

"Well, that's the thing." Misty said. "Daisy won a world cruise for three in some stupid beauty contest. They're leaving the gym for me. In fact, they left for the cruise today as soon as I called."

"WHAT?" the twins asked.

"I'll help." Ash said.

"No Ash. You and Aaron have already made plans. We're obviously going to see each other again, so there is no need to put off your training."

"If you say so." Ash said sadly.

That was when Brock got off the phone with his family.

"Hey guys." Brock said.

"You're leaving too aren't you?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah." Brock said. "Wait. Who else is leaving?"

Misty raised her hand.

"Stupid beauty contest." She said. "And stupid sisters."

"Stupid good-for-nothing brothers" Marie said as she stormed to the group and slammed her body onto the chair next to Aaron.

"What's your problem?" Brock asked.

"First, my brothers tell me to "Go out and see the world. Your pokemon are not going to get any stronger here." Then they turn around and tell me that they need me back at home for something as soon as possible."

"You're leaving?" Aaron asked.

"Only temporarily." Marie told her boyfriend. "I'll run away later if necessary."

"We're leaving too." Misty said pointing to herself and Brock.

"Add me too." Andy said as he got off the phone. "My parents have to go to a conference and need someone to babysit Andrea."

"Well." Aaron said. "It's been a good…almost six years."

"Six years together." Misty sighed. "It seems like yesterday I was pulling Ash and Pikachu out of the river."

"Chu." (Yeah)

"We'll meet up again." Ash said. "We always do. Look at Brock."

"Yeah." Misty agreed. "You left to stay with you-know-who, then about a year later, we met up again."

"Your right. We will be back together." Brock said optimistically.

"Just in case." Andy said. "Let's set a deadline. If we don't find each other before the deadline, we'll go to a place and wait."

"Good idea." Marie said. "How about we meet at the Ketchem's if we don't meet up in Hoenn."

"Okay." They all agreed.

"Now. The question is when." Misty said. "My sisters will be back in at most a year."

"I'd probably be able to spend a month with my brothers." Marie added.

"It shouldn't take me long with my family." Brock said.

"And the conference shouldn't last long. Besides, my parents won't be able to be away from Andrea long."

"So, we'll meet at Mom's in a year." Aaron said.

"It's a promise." Marie said.

TBC


	10. Family Reunion?

**Chapter 10: Family Reunion?**

From Seafoam, Andy and Marie headed on to Johto to their homes. The rest went on to Pallet Town.

"Well." Ash said to his group. "I guess this is Goodbye."

"For now." Brock said.

"We WILL meet up again. How else will Ashley and Bailey exist?" Misty told her boyfriend.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about those guys." Aaron mentioned.

"How can you forget your own SON?" Ash teased.

"Hey. He hasn't been born yet." Aaron defended himself. "How can I forget him, if he doesn't exist?"

"You've met him." Misty told him as if it was a simple explanation.

"We have to head on out now." Brock reminded.

Ash and Misty looked at each other.

"Hold on to Togepi." Misty said to Brock.

Before anyone knew it, they were in a PASSIONATE kiss.

"How can Misty's sisters DO this to her?" Aaron asked as Brock covered Togepi's eyes. "To take her away from her true love?"

Brock just gave him a look.

"Sorry Brock." Aaron said realizing what he had just said.

"I'm just kidding." Brock said. "One day, I will find a girl. Hopefully."

"You will." Aaron said. "Okay you two. Break it up. You will have plenty of time to do that sort of thing on your wedding night."

"AARON!" they yelled at him.

"Well. Goodbye Ash." Misty said sneaking a handkerchief into his hand. "This is to remember me by." She added in a whisper.

"Thanks. Bye Misty."

"Okay Brock." Misty said. "Give me my Pokemon."

"PPPPRRRRIIIIII!!!" (WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!)

0000

"Ash? Why didn't we stop by the house?" Aaron said

"Didn't want Mom to get caught up in the goodbye. She loves Misty like a daughter. And Brock like another son. If you think OUR goodbyes were bad, that would be worse."

"Uh Ash." Aaron realized as he paled.

"What?"

"I just remembered what today is."

Ash thought and paled as he remembered.

"Should we make a break for it?" he asked

"Yeah."

With that, the boys ran to their home.

0000

"How are my birthday girls?" Dan said as he came into the kitchen.

"Messy." Delia answered.

It was true. Emily and Elizabeth were covered in their breakfasts. Delia was also wearing their food for they had already started practicing throwing pokeballs by throwing handfuls of food.

DING DONG

"Who can that be?" Dan asked. "I told Professor Oak I was taking the day off."

Dan went to go to the door and opened it to see two people he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Delia! I think it's for you." Dan yelled for his wife as he let the guests in and closed the door.

"We came to see you too Daniel." Arthur Knight told his son-in-law as they went into the living room.

"How are you?" Rose asked.

"Fine." Dan said trying to think of how to inform his in-laws of what had been going on.

"Mom? Dad? What are you two doing here?" Delia asked as she noticed her parents.

"We haven't seen or heard from you in so long, we decided to stop by and visit." Rose said as she hugged her daughter.

"Sorry about that." Delia told her. "When I last called, you two had moved, and I never got your phone number."

"I understand Dear." Rose said. "Now, where are my granddaughters?"

Delia and Dan looked at each other in confusion as Rose went into the kitchen..

"We ran into your sons." Arthur informed them. "They told us the whole story."

"Really?" Delia asked. "How are they?"

"They were fine." Arthur said. "Doing quite well in their training."

DING DONG

"Now who can it be?" Dan asked going to the door.

"Delia? Did you plan a party for the girls and forgot to tell me?" Dan asked after he answered the door.

"No. Why?" Delia asked.

"That's how you greet your parents after all these years of only communicating by vid-phone?" Sarah Ketchem asked her son.

"Sorry Mom." Dan said. "It's just, we weren't expecting you, and Delia's parents showed up."

"Arthur. How great it is to see you again." Matthew said acknowledging the other two parents.

"Sarah. Matthew." Arthur greeting them. "It has been so long."

"Where's Rose?" Sarah asked.

"In the kitchen." Delia said.

0000

After the women got the girls cleaned up, they moved the reunion to the living room. Rose was holding Emily as Sarah held Elizabeth.

"How is Lance doing?" Dan asked.

"He's well." Rose answered. "Still top of the Elite Four and is also a Pokemon G-man."

"Really? That's really something." Delia said.

"Yes." Arthur said. "He's constantly fighting Team Rocket."

This caught Dan's attention. Team Rocket was really starting to make a name for themselves.

When he was training, Giovanni had been Dan's rival. However, their rivalry grew worse than Greg's and Aaron's. Giovanni had not cared for his pokemon and it made Dan sick. When Giovanni had started stealing Pokemon, that was the last straw for Dan. He spent a great deal of his training days fighting against Giovanni and his crew. A few years later, Dan got caught up in family life. He still fought Giovanni part-time as well as try to keep his job. He had never informed Delia about it so she wouldn't worry. That was where he made his mistake. Because he was caught between his job and stopping Team Rocket, Delia became so stressed from trying to raise two boys, keep the house going, AND worrying about him, she left.

DING DONG

Dan was still deep in thought over Team Rocket when the doorbell rang.

"Dan?" Delia asked worried about her husband.

When he didn't answer, she called to the Mr. Mime.

"Mimey? Could you get the door?"

"Mime" (Sure)

"Dan? What's the matter?" she asked.

"Dada?" Elizabeth asked.

"Don't get used to it." A familiar voice from the doorway. "When we get to Hoenn, we are ALL going to work HARD."

"Pikachu pika chu pika" (We're just resting for it.)

"I'm not too sure how I like the tone you used for ALL." Another voice said.

"Do you, or do you not want to do well in the Hoenn League, Aaron?"

"I do. But Ash," Aaron said. "We're on VACATION!"

"Not for long." Ash reminded him.

"Ash! Aaron!" Delia exclaimed as she ran to her boys who had just entered the room. "You're home!"

"Hi Mom." They managed to say as they were squeezed.

"If only Lance and Julie was here." Matt said. "Then this would be a REAL family reunion."

"Hi Grandpa." The boys greeted

They looked around to see it wasn't just Matt.

"Hi Everybody." Aaron laughed.

"Was there a family reunion that nobody mentioned?" Ash joked.

"We were wondering the same thing?" Delia said.

"Dad?" Aaron asked. "What's wrong with him?"

"We aren't sure." Delia said. "We were talking about Lance, and he just spaced out on us."

"We mentioned how he was a G-man." Arthur said. "And is fighting Team…"

"You mentioned THEM?" Aaron interrupted. "Dad hates them with more than a passion. He never explained why though."

"I think perhaps a light thunder shock ought to do the trick." Ash said.

"No." Aaron said. "I think we should save that for when we TELL him about that. I have a better idea."

Aaron whispered something into his brother's ear.

"Good idea. Croconaw. Come on out."

The pokemon came out dancing like it had done as a Totodile.

"Croconaw." Ash said. "I need a light water gun on Dad."

Dan was now thinking of ways to keep Giovanni from his daughters when something cold and wet hit him on the face. When he snapped out of it, he saw his parents, in-laws, and wife looking at him worriedly, a Croconaw, Aaron who looked like a cross between worried and amazed, Ash who was sending a glare at the Croconaw, two Pikachus who were worried, and his daughters who enjoyed every second of the Pokemon drenching their father.

"I said a LIGHT water gun." Ash said to the pokemon.

"Croconaw" (That was light)

"THAT was light?" Ash repeated. "I'm using you in my next battle. Aaron, remind me."

"Unless it's against me." Aaron said.

"Ash? Aaron? When did you two get back?"

"A few minutes ago." Aaron said. "Are you okay Dad?"

"Yeah. Just remembering all the trouble Giovanni had given me during my life. How did you do in the Orange League?"

Aaron reached into his backpack and pulled out a trophy with a grin.

"That's great, Sweety!" Delia exclaimed as she took the trophy and put it up right next to Ash's Orange League trophy. "There. Perfect."

"Whoa." Aaron said looking at his little sisters. "They grew up."

Emily reached for Ash as Elizabeth did the same for Aaron.

The brothers took their sisters and smiled as Delia looked around.

"Where are the others?" Delia asked.

The boys frowned.

"They had to leave." Aaron told her. "Family reasons."

There was a brief silence with the exception of the twin girls babbling.

"Where are you boys off to next?" Matt said trying to change the subject.

"Hoenn." The boys answered. "We're leaving in a week."

"A week?" Delia complained.

"I know the feeling." Sarah told her as she looked at Dan.

"What?" he asked.

"You used to come home for days to weeks at a time. At least Julie was considerate enough to stay home at least a month when she came home from her travels."

"Julie?" Ash whispered to Aaron.

"Aunt Julie." Aaron whispered back. "I don't know too much about her except she's Dad's younger sister."

"Okay." Ash whispered back.

"So." Aaron said changing the subject because the tension had grown again with the mention of Julie. "What are we doing for the girls' birthdays?"

The older adults looked at Dan and Delia.

"You forgot to mention it was their birthday." Arthur said.

0000

A week later everyone was still recovering from the birthday party. Professor Oak, Gary, and Tracy had shown up. Matt and the Professor got into a long conversation about Pokemon; Gary, Ash, Aaron, and Tracey got into a conversation about traveling; the women had gotten into a conversation about cooking; and the rest of the men were talking about past travels. Emily and Elizabeth were having a food fight.

It was now 5 o'clock in the morning. The boat to Hoenn left at 9 o'clock, but they wanted an early start. The sooner they left, the sooner they can see Misty and Marie again.

And Brock and Andy as well.

"Well. We leave in four hours." Ash said packing another shirt while he was still in his pajamas.

Aaron looked deep in thought as he starred at his brother.

"What?" Ash asked.

"I just got a great idea." Aaron said. "We're going to a new area. Why don't we get a new look?"

"What are you talking about?" Ash said.

"Give me your clothes." Aaron instructed.

"We're switching?" Ash asked.

"No." Aaron said. "We ALWAYS wear the same outfit. We're just changing our looks."

"Fine." Ash said. "But if Marie kisses me when she returns, don't go getting all jealous on me."

0000

When they came downstairs for breakfast, Delia was already up making them pancakes.

"Hi Mom." They greeted her.

"Hi Boys." She responded. "Are you two ready for another journey?"

"Of course." They answered.

"Good morning." Dan yawned as he came into the kitchen.

"Morning Dad." The boys answered.

"Now remember." Delia told the boys. "Be careful out there, brush your teeth, change you…"

"MOM!" the boys exclaimed as they blushed.

"Del. I think they can remember to do that kind of stuff." Dan said.

0000

Dan had given the boys a lift to the port.

"Try to stay away from Team Rocket." Dan instructed as he pulled the car up to the port and parked. "I don't know if Giovanni knows who you two are, but just to be safe…"

"We will." They said.

"It's usually them who bother us." Aaron added under his breath.

"What was that Ash?" Dan asked.

"Nothing." Aaron quickly said. "And I'm Aaron."

Dan turned and looked at the two boys.

"We didn't switch." Ash told him.

"We just decided to wear something different." Aaron finished

"Thanks for the ride Dad." Ash said.

The boys and their Pikachus left the car.

TBC


	11. Mary

**Chapter 11: Mary**

A few days later,

Mary O'Brien was walking to Professor Birch's lab with her sister Christine. Mary had celebrated her 10th birthday a few days ago and was now going to get her first pokemon. She was so excited. Her neighbor, May, used to hate pokemon. But once she received her Torchic, she enjoyed training. If Pokemon can do that for someone who hates them, Mary can only dream of what they can do to someone who loves them.

The O'Briens weren't Mary's birth family. Mary had been orphaned at the age of three. The O'Briens adopted her.

Her foster father was a scientist. He would work with some of the top Pokemon researchers to figure out how Pokemon get their power and how it affects the environment. He was born in Hoenn and was once a trainer.

Her foster mother was an artist. Two of her favorite subjects were her children and pokemon. She kept her past pretty quiet.

Christine, Mary's foster sister, was nine years older than Mary. Mary had first met Christine when she came home for a break from training. She was tall with blond hair and blue eyes. Christine was now nineteen going on twenty (A/N: Brock and Andy's age), and still training to be a breeder. She was also a top coordinator.

Mark was Mary's foster brother. He was seven, and dying to be in Mary's shoes. He loved Pokemon with a passion. He would go over to his friend's house to play and study Pokemon. Max, Mark's friend, was May's younger brother as well as the child of the gym leader. Max had joined his sister on her journey.

Even though Mary wasn't a biological member of the O'Brien family, she loved them as if they were. She didn't remember anything about her birth parents. They had died in a car crash.

"Are you excited Mary?" Christine asked.

"You bet." She answered.

"Now remember," Christine told her. "I'm only walking you to the lab. Once there, I have to get back."

"I understand Chris." She said.

0000

It was evening when Mary and Christine stopped at the entrance to the lab.

"This is it." Christine said. "Professor Birch's lab."

"Thanks for taking me." Mary said.

"No problem" Christine said. "You're my little sister in everything but blood."

With that, Christine called out her Dragonite.

"Why didn't we ride Drag?" Mary asked.

"One. Too much weight." Christine said as she got on her pokemon. "Two. It gave us more time to spend together."

"I like the last one better." Mary said.

"Good luck Mary." Christine said. "I'll see you around."

"Don't flirt too much." Mary teased.

Christine gave her a look before smiling and flying off into the setting sun.

0000

Mary entered the lab to see the Professor talking on the phone to another professor.

"Okay Professor Oak." Professor Birch said. "I'll keep my eye out for them. Thanks."

"No. Thank you." Professor Oak said. "Well, I must be going now."

"Yeah. Me to. Mary O'Brien is supposed to be coming over to get her first pokemon."

"Eh hem." Mary cleared her throat.

"Huh?" Birch said as he turned around to see the brown haired young girl in her white shirt and red shorts.

"Hi Professor." She greeted him.

"Hi Mary." Birch said before turning to the other Professor. "I have to go now, Sam. Bye."

"Bye." Samuel Oak said as they hung up.

"Sorry for interrupting." Mary apologized.

"No need for an apology." Birch said. "At least it wasn't Professor Elm. He can go on forever. At least Professor Oak knows when's a good time to stop."

"I hope I can meet them one day." She said.

"You will Mary." Birch said.

"What kind of Pokemon do you have for me?" she asked excitedly.

"Well," Birch told her. "Right now, they are at the Pokemon Center getting a check up. They should be back in a few hours."

"Oh." Mary said. "Why couldn't you give them the check up?"

"Nurse Joy's better at general check ups. I can handle emergencies if necessary."

"I can wait. Can you at least TELL me?"

"Well, there's Torchic, Treeko, and Mudkip." Birch explained. "Torchic is a fire type, Treeko is a grass type, and Mudkip is a water type. Don't make up your mind before you see them though."

DING DONG

"Joshua!" Birch called. "Can you get that?"

"Right away Professor Birch." The assistant called back.

A few minutes later, he came back looking like he had seen double.

"Joshua?" Birch asked. "What's wrong?"

"You might want to see this for yourself." Joshua said as two identical teenage boys came in each with a Pikachu on the shoulder.

"Hi." One of them said.

"You must be Professor Birch." The other one said.

"You two must be Ash and Aaron Ketchem." Birch said. "Professor Oak told me that you two would be coming."

"Figures." Ash whispered to Aaron.

"Pikachu" (Hello)

The Pikachus had turned to Mary and greeted her. This caught the boys' attentions and they turned to Mary.

"Hi." They said.

"I'm Ash and this is my twin brother, Aaron." The one named Ash introduced them.

"Hi." She said.

Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulders and hopped into Mary's lap.

"Pikachu wants to make friends with you." Ash explained.

Mary timidly held her hand above the Pikachu's head and slowly started to pet it.

"Pikachu" (That feels good)

"Pikachu likes it when people pet him like that." Ash told her.

"Is your Pikachu the same way?" Mary asked Aaron.

"You have no idea." Aaron said as Static went to join Pikachu. "Mind your electricity, Static."

"Pika Pikachu" (No problem Aaron.)

RING RING RING PHONE CALL PHONE CALL

"Hello?" Birch answered the phone.

"Hi Professor." Nurse Joy said on the other line. "The Pokemon are ready."

"Great. I'm ready over here. Thanks for checking them."

"No problem." She said smiling.

A few seconds later, the pokemon were over there and Mary was looking at the three pokeballs.

"Are you picking your first Pokemon?" Aaron asked.

Mary nodded.

"That's great." Ash said. "I remember when I got my first."

"What was it?" Mary asked.

"Pikachu" (Me.)

"Him." Ash said pointing to the Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Likewise." Aaron said pointing to Static.

"I didn't know Pikachus were on the list for people to get first." Joshua said.

"They're not." Aaron said. "We just slept in our first day and we were late. I wouldn't have it any other way"

"Pikachu" (You got that right.)

Professor Birch opened all three pokeballs and the three pokemon came out.

"I haven't seen those before." Aaron said.

"These are Torchic, Treeko, and Mudkip." Birch introduced the trainers.

"Pikachu" (Hi) both Pikachu's said

"Treeko" (Hi)

"Mudkip" (Hi)

"Torchic" (Hi)

Mary looked at each pokemon. The Treeko was a little too creepy for her. Mudkip was the same one Christine chose when she had started, so Mary wanted to do something different than her.

That left the Torchic. May had done well with her's. And it WAS cute.

"I choose Torchic." She announced.

"Torchic!" (Yeah!)

"Well then," Birch said calling the others back and handing her Torchic's pokeball. "It's all yours."

"Thanks." She said.

"It's late." Joshua said. "Why don't you three stay here for the night?"

"Thanks." The three trainers said.

0000

The next morning,

"Hey Ash? Aaron?" Mary said to the two boys.

"Yes?" they answered.

"I was wondering," she said shyly. "If I could travel with you two? I heard that people do better when they travel in a group."

The twins looked at each other and then at their Pikachus.

"Pikachu" (Sure)

"Okay." They said. "You're in."

"Thanks" she said.

"Where's the first city?" Aaron said.

"Petalburg." Mary answered.

"Is there a gym?" Ash asked.

"Yes." She said.

"Let's go to Petalburg." They said

TBC


	12. Aunt Julie

**Chapter 12: Aunt Julie**

On the way to Petalburg, Mary noticed something about her new travel partners.

"How come Pikachu and Static aren't in their pokeballs?" she asked them.

The Pikachus tensed as the boys smiled.

"They hate pokeballs." Ash explained.

"We promised them that they would NEVER go in them." Aaron continued.

"Oh." Mary said looking at her Torchic's pokeball. "I never thought a Pokemon could hate being inside the ball."

"Torchic would have let you know." Ash said to her.

"Oh Mary." Aaron said as he remembered something. "Along the way, we might run into some people who will join us. Is that all right?"

"Sure. The more the merrier." She said.

"Great. Two of them are our girlfriends." Ash said.

"Why aren't they with you now?" she asked.

"They had family business." Aaron explained.

0000

When they got to Petalburg a few days later,

"Where's the gym?" Ash asked.

"Right next door to my home." She told them.

During the past few days they had been together, she had told them about how she was an orphan and the O'Briens adopted her when she was three. And they had informed her about the separation and the switch. Now that they knew each others stories, they felt more comfortable around each other.

"Let's go let your parents know your okay." Aaron said.

"Good idea."

0000

At Mary's home,

"Mom? Dad? Mark?" Mary called. "I'm home! And I brought company!"

There was no answer.

"I'll check the back." She said as she left the twins and the Pikachus in the living room.

Ash and Aaron looked around the house. It felt really comfortable. There were pictures everywhere. Some were drawings and some were photos.

"Whoever drew these is really good." Aaron said as he looked at a drawing of three kids. One of which was Mary.

"Yeah." Ash agreed.

"Who are you?" a boy's voice came from the hallway.

The twins turned to see a black haired boy looking at them in shock.

"Oh my…" the boy gasped. "YOU'RE ASH AND AARON OF PALLET TOWN!"

The twins looked at each other before turning to the boy and nodded.

"I was watching repeats of different leagues! You tied in Johto and Ash won Kanto!"

"Yeah." They said.

"This is soooo cool." The boy said. "Now I have something to tell Max when he calls back."

"There you are." Mary said coming into the room. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"They went grocery shopping." The boy told her. "Do you know who these trainers are?!"

"Ash and Aaron." She said. "I'm traveling with them."

"GET OUT!" the boy exclaimed. "TALK ABOUT LUCKY!"

"You have to excuse Mark." She told the boys. "I warned you he was into this stuff."

"Can I tag along like Max does with May?" Mark begged. "Pleeeaaaassseeee."

Mary sighed. "Talk to Mom and Dad."

"YES! In your face Max!" Mark cheered.

"MARK!" Mary exclaimed.

"Sorry." Mark apologized. "Max called and started bragging about all he's done. I think he's been around May's boyfriend, Drew, too long."

Just then, the door to the kitchen from outside opened.

"Mark! We're home!" a female voice called.

"IN HERE MOM!" Mark called.

A black haired woman entered the living room.

"Mary! Your home!" her mother said as she hugged her adopted daughter.

"Hi Mom." She said hugging her foster mother.

"Mary!" a blond man said as he entered the living room. "Did you get your pokemon?"

"Yep." Mary said as she pulled out the pokeball containing Torchic. "C'mon out!"

"Torchic!" (Hi)

"A Torchic like May's!" Mark exclaimed.

"Good choice." Her mother said.

"Mom! Dad!" Mark said. "Can I travel with Mary, Ash, and Aaron? Pleeeaaasssseee?"

"Who are Ash and Aaron?" Mark's father asked before looking at the other two trainers.

"I'm Ash."

"And I'm Aaron."

Mark's mother looked at the boys and gasped.

"Is everything all right Mom?" Mary asked.

Instead of answering, her mother ran up to the bedroom followed by her husband and the kids. They found her in the attic digging through a trunk.

"I know it's here somewhere." She murmured to herself.

Everyone looked at each other when she found what she was looking for. It was a picture of a family of four. It was her family. She looked between the picture and the twins.

"Do you boys know anyone named Daniel Ketchem?" she asked quietly.

They nodded.

"How do you know him?" Ash asked.

"He's my older brother." She answered him

"He's our dad." Aaron added.

0000

At lunch,

"So, Uncle Dan is your dad?" Mark asked.

"Yep." Ash said.

"Hey! Aunt Julie?" Aaron asked. "Who drew the pictures?"

"I did." Julie answered. "Christine drew some of them, but I did the majority."

0000

After meeting Norman and Caroline, Aaron battled Norman first using his new Nidoking, his new Nidoqueen, and Static. (His Nidorino and Nidorina had snuck into his backpack and grabbed some Moonstones.) Aaron won the battle.

A few hours later after Norman's pokemon healed, Ash battled him using Pikachu, Meganium, and Espeon. Ash won.

"No wonder these two tied in Johto." Mark said as he watched the battles. "And they're my cousins. This is too cool."

After Ash's battle, Norman turned to Mary.

"Do you want to try Mary?" he asked.

"No thank you. I think I'm going to try to become a coordinator like Christine and May." Mary said.

"All right. If you see May and Max, tell them we said "Hi"." Norman told the young girl.

"I will." She said.

"Mary!" Richard called his daughter after talking to Julie.

"Yes Dad?" she asked.

"Would you mind if Mark tagged along?" he asked.

Mary thought about it.

"Sure." She answered with a sigh. "He can come."

"YES!" Mark yelled as he heard the answer. "I'm going to learn so much."

"Okay you guys." Ash said as he put his badge in a case. "We have to get going."

"Where's the next gym?" Aaron asked.

"Your best bet would be to go to Rustbero." Norman told them.

"Hold on." Julie said as she dug in her pocket. She pulled out a Pokenav. "If you two have Dan's tracking skills, you'll need this."

"It's a Pokenav!" Mark exclaimed.

"Yep." Richard said. "And you will be in charge of it Mark."

"Really? This is the best day of my life" Mark said.

TBC


	13. The First One Back

**Chapter 13: The First One Back**

A few days later,

"Are we lost?" Mary asked.

"No." the twins answered.

"We just don't know where we are." Aaron added

"Last time I check," Mary said. "That was the meaning of the word "Lost"."

"Mary. It's part of the Ketchem curse to get lost." Ash told her. "Dad got lost, I'm sure Aunt Julie got lost, we get lost,"

"Christine got lost a LOT." Mark interrupted.

"Our kids got lost." Aaron added.

The O'Brien kids looked at him funny.

"Blabbermouth." Ash said.

"What kids?" Mark asked.

"We ran into Celebi a few years ago." Aaron explained "We went time traveling and met our kids."

"Cool." Mark said. "I've always wanted to see a Celebi."

"Hang around with us, and you'll see more Legendary Pokemon than you want to see." Ash told him.

"Really?" Mary asked.

"Oh yeah." Ash said.

"Pikachu?" (What's for lunch?)

"Lunch!" the twins realized something looking at each other in horror.

"I thought you packed the lunch." Ash said pointing at Aaron.

"I thought YOU did." Aaron said pointing at Ash

"Are we without food?" Mary asked.

"Hehe. Yeah."

"PIKACHU?!" (WHAT?!)

"It was usually Brock who was in charge of the food." Ash said.

"TAILLOW!" (GET OUT!)

"Uh oh." They said

Mary pulled out her Pokedex

Taillow. The Tiny Swallow Pokemon. Although it is small, it is very courageous. It will take on a larger Skymory on an equal footing. However, its will weakens if it becomes hungry."

"We have a small problem." Aaron stated as the flock of Taillow grew.

"Aaron. Take Mary and Mark away from here. I'll hold off the Taillow. Head for the nearest town."

"But Ash," Aaron started.

"Just go!"

"Okay." Aaron said before saying to himself, "Was he born first? Because he can sure be bossy."

"Pikachu." Ash said.

"Pi?" (Yeah)

"Thunderbolt!"

"PIIIIKKKKKAAAACCCCCHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!"

The attack was affective…temporarily. The most it accomplished was giving Aaron, Mary, and Mark cover.

"AGAIN!"

"PIIIIKKKKKAAAACCCCCHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!"

."I'm amazed at the levels." Ash said to himself as he pulled out his pokedex

A few seconds later, he found out that most of the pokemon were on levels 5-10.

"Something is REALLY wrong." Ash said. "Pikachu is at level 110. Try it again."

"PIIIIKKKKKAAAACCCCCHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!"

"FORTRESS! EXPLOSION!" a familiar voice called out.

After the Thunderbolt and the explosion, Ash turned to see a very familiar face.

"BROCK!"

0000

At Brock's camp a few minutes later,

"I saw the first thunderbolt." Brock explained. "I recognized it immediately and came running."

"Thanks." Ash said. "So Brock. Is everything all right at the gym?"

"Everything's fine. The gym was almost transformed to specialize in Water types. Creepy." Brock said.

"Don't let Misty hear you say that." Ash said.

"Is she here?" Brock asked.

Ash shook his head.

"Poor Ash." Brock said.

Ash thought for a moment wondering what his friend meant by that. Then he remembered that he and Aaron switched clothes and didn't tell Brock. Ash then decided to have a little fun.

"On a happier note," Ash added "We met Mary and Mark. Mark is our cousin and Mary is his sister."

"But, wouldn't that also make Mary your cousin."

"She is, but not in blood." he explained. "She's adopted."

"Where are they?" Brock asked.

"I held off the Taillow as they made a break for it." Ash explained. "Hopefully they're at the nearest Pokemon Center."

Just then, a Taillow came out of nowhere.

"See what it wants." Ash told Pikachu.

"PIka."(Okay)

After a few minutes of Pokemon talk, Pikachu turned back to his trainer.

"Pikachu piKA Pikachu pikapi chu pika" (Taillow wants to have a battle with us)

"Very well." Ash said to the Taillow. "We accept your challenge."

0000

"Where is he?" Aaron said worriedly at the nearest Pokemon Center that was in the woods.

"Calm down." Mark said.

"How can I calm down?" Aaron asked. "I saw at least 10 thunderbolts since we left him."

"Well, your appetite hasn't changed." Mary said noticing how much he was eating.

"OH NURSE JOY! MY HEART YEARNS FOR OWWW!!" a voice called from the lobby.

"That sounded like Brock." Aaron said.

"Sorry about him." Another familiar voice said. "Can you heal my pokemon?"

"Didn't I just give yours back?" Joy asked.

Aaron ran to the lobby and saw Ash talking to Nurse Joy and Brock rubbing his ear.

"ASH!" Aaron yelled. "Hi Brock."

"Huh?" Ash said turning to see his brother. "Hi Aaron."

Nurse Joy was doing double takes as the twins were reunited.

Brock was also doing double takes because of what the twins were calling each other.

"I'm sorry." Joy said. "I could have sworn…"

"It's no problem." Ash said.

"We're used to it." Aaron added. "What happened?"

"Well, after a few thunderbolts, Brock showed up and helped out by having Fortress use Explosion." Ash explained. "We went back to his camp, talked, a Taillow appeared wanting to battle, I did, I captured it, we had lunch, then we came looking for you."

"Sounds simple enough." Aaron said.

"You CAPTURED a Taillow?!" Mark exclaimed.

"Yeah." Ash said. "That's what you do on a journey, Mark."

"Rats." Mark pouted. "I missed seeing a real capture."

"There will be plenty more." Ash promised. "Oh. Brock. This is Mark and Mary. Guys, this is Brock."

"It's nice to finally meet you." Mary said.

"Likewise." Brock said still confused. "So, I'm the first of the old gang to show up?"

"Yep." Aaron said. "All we need is Andy, Marie, and Misty."

"This is going to be one FUN trip." Mark said.

"You two switched again didn't you?" Brock finally asked.

TBC

A/N: Question: Remember the Legend Balls? Well, how many of you readers think the twins should get Deoxys? Since there are two Deoxys and two twins, who gets what won't be a problem. I just wanted to know what you think. Thanks.


	14. Two Gyms and a Fire Trainer

**Chapter 14: Two Gyms and a Fire Trainer**

A few weeks and a few captures later (Ash caught a Treeko, Aaron caught a Lotad, and Mary caught a Wurmple) with the help of the Pokenav until it ran out of battery power, the group found themselves in Rustboro City.

"We're going on to the gym." Aaron told the gang.

"Why don't you three stock up on supplies?" Ash suggested.

"Good idea Ash." Brock said. "We'll shop and you guys battle."

"I'm going to find out where the nearest Contest Hall is." Mary said.

"I'm going to explore the city." Mark said.

"Actually," Ash said to Mark. "Why don't you stay near Brock. Someone needs to keep him away from the girls."

"I almost forgot about that." Aaron said.

0000

While the twins went to battle Roxanne, Brock, Mary, and Mark went shopping.

"Hmmm. These tomatoes look ripe." Brock said as he picked out some food to cook with.

"OFFICER JENNY! COME BACK!" a familiar voice to Brock called.

Brock looked up from the food and starred into space.

"Andy?"

Brock turned to see an Officer Jenny ridding away on her motorcycle while Andy was chasing after her.

Before Brock could say anything to Andy, his eyes fell on Jenny.

"Hehehe. Jenny." He said blushing.

"I have an idea." Mark said taking off his backpack.

Mark grabbed a nearby chair and placed it right next to Brock. He got on the chair and swung his backpack at Brock's head.

"OW!" Brock yelled.

Andy heard the familiar voice of Brock and for once, forgot all about Officer Jenny.

"Brock?" Andy asked looking around.

"Over here." Brock moaned.

"I used to do that to my sister when she flirted." Mark said proudly. "She has Mom's hard head."

"Brock!" Andy called as he saw his friend. "Finally a familiar face."

"I know the feeling." Brock said shaking Andy's hand. "How are things going in Violet?"

"Good. Andrea has really grown. How about things in Pewter?"

"Better. The gym was nearly transformed into a water pokemon gym, but I put a stop to that."

"That's great. That you put a stop to it that is." Andy said. "So, I see you're stocking up on supplies."

"Yep. Mark, can you get some fresh batteries for the Pokenav?"

"Sure thing Brock." The seven year old said as he ran off.

Andy gave Brock a confused look.

"Oh. That was Mark O'Brien. And this is his sister, Mary." Brock introduced "Mary, this is Andy. He's a member of the group we told you about."

"Oh." Mary said in recognition. "You're THAT Andy. I've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you." Andy said politely.

"So, how long have you been here?" Brock asked.

"Just got in today." Andy said. "I was on my way to wait for Ash and Aaron at Lavaridge."

"Makes sense." Brock said.

"Want to come with me?" Andy offered.

"Love to, but can't. I'm traveling with Mary, Ash, Aaron, and Mark." Brock said.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll meet you there if did you just say Ash and Aaron?" Andy said as it registered what Brock had just said.

"Yes. Those two are getting their second Hoenn badge as we speak." Brock told him.

"You could have mentioned that sooner." Andy told him. "What about the girls?"

"Not yet." Brock said shaking his head.

Andy looked at Mary before turning back to Brock. "Think it's safe with another girl around?"

"Mary and Mark are Ash and Aaron's cousins." Brock said.

"I'm an adopted cousin." Mary corrected. "And if you're worried about Marie and Misty having any competition, I can assure you that I have no interests in those two boys."

"Good enough for me." Andy said.

"I have the batteries." Mark said running to the group. "I've even replaced the ones in the Pokenav."

"And what have we learned?" Brock asked him.

"Always have the Pokenav turned off when it's not being used." Mark said like he was repeating something.

"Oh Andy." Brock said. "There's something I need to tell you. Ash and Aaron…"

"That was some battle." A voice came from the main road.

"Yeah. Who knew your Treecko could move that fast?" another voice answered.

"And your new Lotad? Very impressive." The first voice said

"I'm really proud of our Pikachus." The second voice added. "They learned Iron Tail."

"We thanked Roxanne, right? For those TMs?"

"Yes. About 100 times."

Brock, Andy, Mark and Mary looked to see the twins walking through town after their battles.

"ASH! AARON!" Brock yelled.

The twins looked to see the trio.

"Hi Brock, Mary, Andy, and Mark." Ash and Aaron said as they waved.

The twins stopped and thought about what they had just said. Something didn't sound right.

"ANDY?!" they questioned.

"The one and only." Andy said jokingly.

"You're back early." Aaron said as he shook his hand.

"Just got into Hoenn today. Charizard needs a LONG rest."

"I'm sure he does." Ash smiled sincerely.

"Marie didn't come with me." Andy told him.

"I figured." Aaron sighed. "Were you introduced to Mary and Mark?"

"I was introduced to Mary, and Mark was pointed out to me." Andy informed him.

"I'm Mark." Mark said.

"And I'm Andy." Andy introduced himself to the young boy.

"You're the fire trainer that Ash, Aaron, and Brock mentioned!" Mark said excitedly. "Can you show us some of your pokemon?"

"Later." Andy promised. "Did you get your badges?"

The twins held up the matching Stone Badges.

"Great. How did you do it?" Brock asked.

"Well," Ash said. "Before the battle, we found Roxanne teaching at this school. While there, they gave us both TMs for Iron Tail. Pikachu and Static both wanted to learn it, so we taught them. I battled Roxanne first with Treecko, Taillow, and Pikachu. Pikachu pulled through with the new Iron Tail attack. It can still use a bit of work though."

"And I battled Roxanne using my new Lotad, Umbreon, and Static." Aaron finished. "Again, Iron Tail needs some work."

"Wait a minute." Andy said realizing something they had said. "Did you two switch again?"

"No." Aaron said. "We decided to wear something different."

"The least you could have done was warn me." Andy said to Brock.

"I was going to." Brock said. "You get used to the new outfits after a few weeks."

"It took us three days of correcting him before he got it." Ash said.

Everyone laughed.

"Where to now?" Aaron said as they calmed down.

Mark looked at the Pokenav. "Dewford. And then there's a Contest Hall for Mary in Slateport."

"Sounds like a plan." Mary said. "You know, I better get to training my new Wurmple."

"You think?" Mark said sarcastically

0000

A few days later, the group found themselves on Dewford Island. The gym leader, Brawly, was a surfer who specialized in fighting types. Ash and Aaron decided to play it safe and train a bit before actually going to battle him.

"Where are Ash and Aaron?" Mary asked Andy one night at the Pokemon Center.

"They're training." Andy answered.

"STILL?!" Mark exclaimed. "How often do they train?"

"A lot more than they used to." Brock told him. "Andy? Have you noticed if Aaron trains more since he met Ash?"

"Yeah." Andy said. "I keep meaning to ask him about it."

Just then, the doors of the center locked.

"Wait." Andy said to Joy. "You can't lock up yet."

"It's curfew." Joy told him.

"But our friends are still out there." Brock told her.

"I'm sorry." Joy apologized.

0000

Meanwhile,

"Whew." Aaron sighed. "Why are we climbing this cliff?"

"Training." Ash said

"Treecko!" (C'mon slowpokes.)

Ash, Aaron, Pikachu, and Static looked up to see Ash's Treecko and Taillow already at the top.

"We're coming!" Ash called.

"We should be getting back to the Center." Aaron said looking down. "I already captured my new Pokemon for the day."

Ash looked at him. "When?"

"This evening when you were getting dinner." Aaron said looking proud of himself. "I caught a Corphish."

"Good for you." Ash said as he climbed some more.

When the twins got to the top, they found a small research lab at the top of the plateau.

"I thought he retired." Aaron said.

"I guess we'll find out." Ash said as he went to the door and knocked on it.

"Coming." A voice came from within.

The door opened to reveal a gray haired professor. Aaron recognized him from his Dad's pictures.

"Hi. Professor Rowan?" Aaron asked.

"Dan? Did you run into a Celebi?" Professor Rowan asked Aaron before laying his eyes on Ash.

"Twice in one year?" he continued.

"No Professor." Ash told him. "We're Ash and Aaron. Dan's sons."

"Oh yeah." Rowan said. "Sam mentioned that Dan had sons. How is your father?"

"He's doing well." Aaron answered.

"Well, come on in. Make yourselves at home."

"Thanks." The twins said.

0000

The next day, after talking to Professor Rowan, the twins went to go see Brawly to challenge him to a badge. Ash almost lost, but then he realized that to defeat Hariyama, which had just evolved, Treecko was going to have to do some serious pounding on the legs. Ash won his battle and Aaron went up next. Aaron also won using his new Corphish and Static.

Later that day,

"Where ARE those two?" Brock asked.

"There they are!" Andy pointed them out as they came walking to the gym to get their pokemon healed.

"Pika!" (Hi guys!)

"Where were you two?" Mary asked.

"Training." Ash answered.

"And getting these." Aaron added as he held out his Knuckle Badges.

"Are we ever going to see your gym battles?" Brock asked.

"Maybe." The twins answered.

TBC


	15. Love is a Many Embarrassing Thing

A/N: Sorry for the delay. The rest of the story will go quickly, but so you can see other adventures that didn't make it to the stories, I'm doing a story of Deleted Scenes (the equivalent to Memories for my Harry Potter stories). Just don't look for it too soon. I've gotten so busy lately.

**Chapter 15: Love is a Many Embarrassing Thing**

In Slateport, Ash and Aaron were enjoying their break to watch Mary perform in her first contest. Her Wurmple had evolved into a Silcoon earlier, and then evolved into a Beautifly.

"I'm so nervous." She said backstage on the day of the contest.

"I understand." Ash said. "But you have to remember, if you're nervous, so is your Pokemon."

"But what if I fail?" Mary asked.

"This is your first time." Brock said. "As long as you try your hardest, then you won't fail. Even if you lose."

Mary sighed. "You're right." She said.

0000

Mary and Beautifly had done beautifully. There wasn't a single slip up. She had spent all week training with Beautifly and had all the attacks nailed. She had gone on to the battles, but lost her first contest battle against a Dustox.

"Are you okay Mary?" Aaron asked her after the contest.

"Yeah." She sighed sadly. "I should have worked more on the actual battling."

"Perhaps." Ash said. "But you're still learning."

"Ash? Aaron? Can you two help me with battle strategies?" she asked.

"Sure." They told her.

"It will be hard since we're used to no time limit." Aaron said.

"But we can handle it." Ash added.

"Thanks." She said.

0000

A few months later, we find our heroes in Mauville City.

"We are going in with you." Brock said to the twins.

"Of course." Aaron said.

When they knocked on the door, it fell in. The trainers stepped into the hallway onto the fallen door. Then, it started to move.

"I hate roller coasters!" Mark yelled as the ride got a little more faster.

A few seconds later, a fake Raikou appeared.

"It's a Raikou!" Andy exclaimed.

Ash looked at Aaron in confusion.

"It's not Raikou." Aaron whispered.

"It's a fake." Ash said calming the rest of the gang down.

"ROAR!" the mechanical Raikou roared.

"EEK!" Mary jumped behind Andy. "If that's fake, I'd hate to see the real thing."

"Actually the real thing can be a bit of a softy once you get to know it." Aaron laughed.

Everyone looked at him.

"Ixnay." Ash whispered.

"So I've heard." Aaron added to save himself. "Jimmy, Marina, and Vincent met it before."

"Aaron." Ash whispered. "Call out Corphish, and have it use bubble."

"CORPHISH! BUBBLE!" Aaron obeyed realizing where his brother was going.

"Cor Phish phish phish phish phish"

It had the desired affect. The water from the bubbles short circuited the fake Raikou.

(A/N: You know how when you pour water on an electrical appliance it never works again? That's what happened.)

"That was great!" a man said as he entered the hallway.

"Huh?" everyone turned to see the gym leader walk in.

"I must admit. Nobody has ever used a water type to go against my mechanical Raikou. I'm Wattson. The Gym Leader of the Mauville gym."

"Thanks." Aaron said. "It was actually Ash's idea."

"But you were the smart one to actually BRING a water type." Ash told his brother.

Wattson was doing double takes at the twins.

"Identical twins?" he asked them.

"Of course." They both said.

"And we came to challenge you…" Ash said.

"…To a battle." Aaron finished.

"Of course I'll battle you two." Wattson said. "I have an Electrike I want to try out. Two Pokemon each alright with you?"

"Of course." They said.

Ash went first and used Phanpy and Treeko. Phanpy evolved into a Donphan after it's battle with Electrike. Aaron went second with Bellossom and Nidoqueen.

"Quite impressive." Wattson said. "You two earned your Dynomo badge."

"Thanks." They said.

0000

"Four down, four to go." Aaron said looking at his badges.

"Where to next?" Ash asked.

"Let's see." Mark said looking at the Pokenav. "There's a contest at Fallarbor Town."

"To Fallarbor!" the twins yelled.

"Hey, Aaron?" Mary asked.

"Yes Mary?"

"Where did you get your Bellossom?"

"I raised it from an Oddish." Aaron explained.

"They evolve into Gloom before using a Sun Stone to evolve into Bellossom." Brock explained.

Mary nodded.

0000

A few days later, our heroes found themselves at a lake.

"Oh look!" Mary exclaimed as she pointed to a man and a woman training their pokemon on a platform in the middle of the lake.

"Volbeat. The Firefly Pokemon. Volbeat's tail glows like a lightbulb. With other Volbeat, it uses its tail to draw geometric shapes in the night sky. This pokemon loves the sweet aroma given off by Illumise." Aaron's Pokedex sounded .

"Illumise. The Firefly Pokemon. Illumise attracts a swarm of Volbeat using a sweet fragrance. Once the Volbeat have gathered, this Pokemon leads the lit-up swarm in drawing geometric designs on the canvas of the night sky." Ash's said.

"Hi." Nurse Joy said coming up to the guys. "Are you staying for the May Festival?"

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"It's a time when Illumise and Volbeat perform their dance. Anyone in love who watches it is sure to be blessed with super good luck." Joy explained.

Aaron and Ash looked crestfallen. If only Marie and Misty were here.

Just then, the man messed up and fell into the water.

"Help! I can't swim!" he yelled.

Nurse Joy sighed as Aaron sent Corphish to fish the man out.

"Are you okay Romeo?" The girl asked a few minutes later after Corphish saved him.

"I'm fine Juliet." Romeo panted. "I just need a break."

"Okay. Do you need me to stay with you?" Juliet asked as they left the platform in the boat.

"No. I'll be alright." He said.

"Very well." Juliet said. "You know where to find me."

"That's so cute." Mary squealed after Juliet left. "They're in love."

"Thanks for saving me." Romeo said to Aaron.

"No problem." Aaron said.

"You need a little more practice." Andy pointed out.

"Normally I'm quite good." Romeo explained. "But whenever I'm around Juliet…"

"Is she your girlfriend?" Mary asked.

"Please say no. Please say no." Brock begged silently.

"Yes…No…I mean…" Romeo said not knowing how to answer.

"She's not, but you want her to be?" Ash asked.

Romeo blushed.

"That means yes." Mary said. "Don't worry. I know just how you can break it to her."

0000

Later that night,

"Juliet." Romeo said to a figure on the porch. "Well, it's very difficult for me to say this… I think I…love you." Romeo whispered.

"No, no, NO!" Mary said coming out of her hiding place. "You don't THINK you love her! You either love her, or you don't. Men! Why is it so difficult?"

"Let an expert show you." Brock said to Romeo as he came out of the bushes.

There was laughter in the bushes and trees where Brock came from at this statement.

"Oh Juliet your beauty rivals even these roses. It pierces my heart like these thorns," Brock said going into girl mode while holding a bouquet of roses. "Heal me with your love!"

Juliet turned to see Brock going in for a hug.

"BROCK YOU IDIOT!" Juliet yelled running "I'M NOT THE REAL JULIET!"

Brock was chasing the fake Juliet as Andy, Ash, Mark, Pikachu, and Static fell out of the bushes and trees laughing their heads off, Romeo starred in confusion, and Mary went to the nearest tree and started hitting her head. Nobody noticed the extra figure**_s_** step out from their hiding places.

"Romeo?" Juliet whispered. "What's going on?"

"J-Juliet?!" he exclaimed in shock as he saw her. "I…"

"You promised me when we were young that we would marry." She told him. "Are you going to keep that promise?" she winked at him.

"Uh. Sure. Why not?"

Juliet smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"I told you so." The other figure said.

"PICHUKAPI!" Static yelled as he saw the other figure Juliet was pointing to.

Aaron, still dressed as Juliet, ducked sending Brock soaring over him.

When Brock was out of the way, Aaron turned to his Pikachu who had ran to the girl, jumped onto her shoulder, and nuzzled her. Aaron paled as he looked at the girl and then at his outfit. Ash, Andy, Pikachu, and Brock noticed and started laughing even harder.

"Nice outfit Aaron." Marie said to her boyfriend.

TBC


	16. Jirachi

_Italics - Jirachi speaking_

**Chapter 16: Jirachi**

After the May Festival and introducing Marie to Mary and Mark, Aaron was still embarrassed over what had happened.

"You HAD to come at that time?" he asked Marie as they traveled

"Of course." She teased. "You made a cute Juliet. You even fooled Brock."

Brock laughed in embarrassment.

"How did you know it was me and not Ash?" Aaron asked.

"The same way how Misty and I knew it was you when you two decided to dress identically between Johto and Kanto." She told him.

"What did your brothers want?" Ash asked changing the subject.

"Mom and Dad had come home and wanted to see me. I yelled at my brothers for hours because I could have introduced my parents to you guys." She told them.

"Well, I'm glad you're back." Aaron said giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Now all we need is Misty." Andy said.

"Right." Ash agreed.

"Then the group will be complete?" Mark asked.

"Yes." Aaron said.

00000

Our heroes were camping in a desert one night when their sleep was interrupted by a festival that was being set up.

"What's going on?" Mary asked sleepily.

Marie thought for a second before her eyes widened.

"Of course! The Millennium Comet comes this week. This is the festival for it. HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN?"

"I guess we'll have to go check it out." Ash said.

0000

At the festival, the heroes made their way to a magic show where Aaron and Mark were called to be demos. As they went up, the rock the assistant (whom Brock was going nuts over) was holding, seemed to have spoken to Mark.

_Wish. The star._

"You do know your rock is talking, right?" Mark whispered to the assistant.

"Huh?" the assistant, Dianne, asked.

"NOW!" Butler, the magician yelled. "AARON AND MARK WILL CLIMB INTO MY BURNING BOX OF DOOM AND ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE!"

"Burning box?" Aaron asked uneasily.

"Of doom?" Mark added just as uneasy.

After he and Mark climbed in, Butler decided to make things a little more interesting.

"AND TO MAKE THINGS A LITTLE MORE EXCITING, DUSCLOPS WILL USE HYPERBEAM IN 10 SECONDS!"

Inside the box, Aaron and Mark's eyes widened in shock. Aaron was thinking which of his pokemon was small and could use teleport. The only one he could think of was Mew. The problem was: Mew was a Legendary and Mark was there with him. There was no chance he was letting out one of his Legendaries without causing suspicion.

"10"

But then again, a hyperbeam WAS a powerful attack.

"9"

Which of the silver balls was Mew again?

"8"

"What are you doing?" Mark asked Aaron as he fumbled with his bag.

"7"

"Where did I put it?" Aaron mumbled.

"6"

"Put what?" Mark asked.

"5"

"I have a way to get us out." Aaron told him

"4"

"How?"

"3"

"It's a secret."

"2"

"Aaron. Hurry." Mark begged.

"1"

Just then, the bottom of the box caved in and the two boys fell through and traveled under the audience just as the Hyperbeam was let out.

As far as the audience knew, the hyperbeam hit the box, it exploded, and then it started raining bouquets of flowers.

"NOT ONLY DID AARON AND MARK ESCAPE THE BURNING BOX, BUT THEY MADE IT RAIN BOUQUETS OF FLOWERS AS WELL! LET'S HEAR IT FOR AARON AND MARK!"

As Butler was announcing this, he pointed to the top of the stands where Aaron and Mark were standing looking absolutely clueless. Aaron still had his backpack in front of him opened.

"Guess I didn't need it." Aaron said as he zipped up his backpack and put it back on.

0000

As the group was talking to Butler and Dianne after the show, Ash pulled Aaron aside.

"Were you going to use a Legend?" he asked.

"Yeah." Aaron admitted. "I panicked."

"To tell you the truth," Ash admitted. "I was pretty close to calling out Celebi and telling it to go save you."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU?!" Aaron asked.

The rest of the group looked at them.

"Nothing." The twins told them.

"Not enough time." Ash explained. "By the time I had grabbed my bag, it was already on 2 seconds left."

"So," Mark went back to asking. "Jirachi wants me to be its friend?"

"Apparently so." Butler said. "You see, in order for Jirachi to awaken, it needs two things: the comet, and a friend."

"Congratulations Mark. You're the Chosen One this time." Aaron said.

"Don't joke around with that title Aaron." Ash warned. "It's bad luck."

Everyone looked at him confused.

"The last time I was the "Chosen One" for real," Ash explained, "I…well…it was the Shamuti incident."

"Oh yeah." Aaron realized. "Maybe "Chosen One" wasn't the right term."

"Long story." Ash said noticing the looks on Mary, Mark, Dianne, and Butler's faces.

0000

That night after Mary had bought one of those Wishing Stars, the gang went out to the field and looked for the comet. Ash had also bought one in secret.

"It's starting to get cloudy." Brock stated.

"Go away clouds!" Marie yelled.

As if they heard her and understood her temper, the clouds moved on across the sky to reveal the magnificent comet.

Mary looked down at her brother after making her wish and noticed that he was asleep holding the cocoon Jirachi was in. She started humming a melody that had been planted in her memory.

When she finished, she turned to the rest of the gang and smiled sadly.

"It's the only thing I can remember of my birth mother." She explained. "I remember her singing that song to get me to sleep."

The returned the sad smile and went back to looking at the comet. As they were looking at it, Ash made his wish.

Just then, the rock started to glow and levitate. Mark woke up and the gang starred at it as it transformed into the pokemon.

"Hi." Mark said after he caught it and it woke up. "I'm Mark."

_Hello Mark._

"More telepathy." Andy groaned.

"Shut up." Marie ordered the older trainer.

"Hi. I'm Ash. And this is Pikachu."

"I'm Aaron. And this is Static."

"Hello. I'm Mary."

"And I'm Brock."

"I'm Marie."

"I'm Andy."

_Hello Ash, Pikachu, Aaron, Static, Mary, Brock, Marie, Andy._

0000

In Butler and Dianne's bus,

"Jirachi. The Wish Pokemon. Jirachi will awaken from its sleep of a thousand years if you sing to it in a voice of purity. It is said to make true any wish that people desire. Not much else is known."

Aaron had decided to look up Jirachi on his Pokedex.

"So," Mark said. "They say that you can grant wishes."

_Wishes?_

"Let's test it." Mark said thinking

"Let Ash have a go." Aaron teased. "He KNOWS what he wants already."

"Very funny." Ash said. "I'm letting her come on her own. I'm not going to let some wish teleport her to me. She could be in the middle of a VERY important battle that could mean the survival of the Cerulean Gym."

"I never said it was Misty." Aaron said.

Everyone else snickered at this as Ash blushed.

"I know!" Mark said. "I wish for lots and lots of candy."

"His dentist will be happy." Marie whispered to her boyfriend.

_Candy?_

Jirachi closed his eyes and started glowing.

Nothing happened.

"Max was right." Mark pouted. "Wishes don't come true."

Suddenly, a bag of candy popped onto Mark's lap.

"Look!" Mary exclaimed.

_Candy! Candy! Candy!_

Jirachi started flying around as bags and bars of candy, chips, and other sweets started to appear in the bus.

"I guess it can grant wishes." Marie said as she was up to her knees in sweets.

"Where is all this coming from?" Andy asked.

"Pika. Pikachu pika cha pi" (Aaron. I think Jirachi's overdoing it.)

Butler and Dianne were coming in from cleaning up their stage area. As they opened the door, the candy, the kids, and the three pokemon came pouring out.

"What happened?" Dianne asked.

"I wished for candy," Mark explained. "And Jirachi granted my wish."

Dianne picked up a bag of chips.

"This candy is from the festival." She stated.

"So, this candy is…"Aaron asked.

"Finally free." Mary interrupted.

"Jirachi can teleport it back." Butler said.

"Rats." Mary pouted.

0000

The next day, Jirachi and Mark spent the day playing together. They had become the best of friends.

"I am so tempted to add an extra addition to that group." Ash whispered to Aaron just before Butler's show (they were helping out).

"What do you mean?" Aaron whispered back.

"A certain green legendary that introduced us to us." Ash hinted.

"That's a great idea." Aaron said. "in fact…"

Within the next few minutes, Jirachi and Mark had made two new friends in Celebi and an Aipom.

0000

After the show, Mark and the three pokemon returned from their day of fun. Mary needed help moving some lights, but Jirachi had other plans for Mark. As Mark was getting his Pokenav from Jirachi that he had taken, the two found themselves being attacked by an Absol.

_It's here for me._

0000

"Where did you get the Aipom?" Andy asked Aaron as the purple pokemon was perched on Aaron's head.

"Aipom?" Aaron asked.

"The Pokemon on your head." Ash stated.

"Aipom" (Me)

"Oh! This Aipom!" Aaron realized what they were talking about. "It followed me?"

Static and Pikachu both slapped their tiny hands to their heads as Ash rolled his eyes.

"Pikachu" (Oh brother)

"HELP!" Mark's voice rang out.

"MARK!" the gang exclaimed as they ran to the boy and the pokemon.

They found the young boy holding Jirachi facing an Absol.

"They say Absol appears just before a great tragedy." Butler exclaimed.

"Help us." Aaron whispered to the pokemon that was now on his shoulder.

"Aipom." (Alright.)

The "Aipom" leaped off of Aaron's shoulder and started talking to the Absol.

"Aipom Pom pom Ai." (Leave them alone Absol)

"Absol. Ab Absol sol" (I can't. Jirachi belongs in Verena.)

"Aip. Pom aipom. Aipom ipom" (I know that. But Jirachi needs a friend. I'll get them to take Jirachi back to Verena)

"Absol." (How can I trust you?)

The Aipom looked to Aaron and saw that only Ash and Aaron were present. They had managed to convince the others to make a break for it and hide throughout the carnival taking Mark and Jirachi.

"They're gone." Aaron told the pokemon.

The Aipom nodded and started glowing and transforming. To anybody else, it would look like Aipom was evolving. But since when does Aipom evolve into Mew?

"Mew?" (This good enough for you?)

"Absol" (Yes Mew)

0000

That night, everyone but Ash, Mary, Butler, and Dianne were sleeping. Ash and Mary were making their wishes in secret, Butler was setting up to do something, and Dianne was trying to talk him out of it with no prevail.

Butler snuck into the bus and took Jirachi from Mark as he slept on. When Ash and Mary walked in (Ash using the excuse he was getting fresh air), they saw Jirachi gone and woke the rest of the gang up.

They all went outside to look for Jirachi. What they found was a beam of light shooting up, hitting the comet, and coming back down right onto Butler's stage.

When they went in, they found Butler with Jirachi. Dusclops was using psychic and Jirachi looked in pain.

"STOP IT!" Marie and Mark yelled.

"What's Butler doing?" Ash asked.

"He's using Jirachi's power to resurrect a Groudon." Dianne told them in horror.

"Mew." Aaron whispered into his backpack. "We need that machine destroyed."

"Mew." (Okay)

Within the second, a powerful psychic attack had destroyed the machine. Mark ran up, grabbed Jirachi, and held it gently.

_I want to go home._

"Home?"

_Verena_

"Mew. Mew mew." (Aaron. We need to get Jirachi to Verena.)

"Okay." Aaron said. "Ash. We need to get Jirachi to…where was it again?"

"C'mon." Dianne said as she led the kids to the bus and they drove off leaving a stunned Butler behind.

"Dianne. I thought you of all people would understand." He said to himself.

0000

In the bus,

"Why was Butler trying to revive a Groudon?" Brock asked.

"Revenge." Dianne explained. "He tried once for Team Magma and failed. He needed a stronger energy supply. They laughed at him. Now, he wants revenge."

"But what does the comet have to do with anything?" Andy asked.

"Because of the comet's power." Marie explained. "When Jirachi's true eye sees the comet, it absorbs it's power."

"What true eye?" Mary asked.

"That." Marie pointed to the pokemon's stomach. On it's stomach looked like a smile, or a closed eye.

"It happens on the last day of the comet's arrival to Earth." Marie concluded.

"Leave it to Marie to know Legends." Aaron said proudly.

"Of course." She said.

"So, where to now?" Andy asked.

"Verena." Mark, Marie, Aaron, Ash, Mary, Dianne, and Jirachi said.

0000

The trip was a long one. The road was bumpy in some places, the van got stuck a few times, and there were some close calls with roads on the sides of cliffs. But all in all, the next few days was a lot of fun for the kids and Jirachi. Ash and Mary never did miss one day of their wishing.

It was the fifth day. Mark had caught Mary doing her count down. To him, it was counting the days he had left with Jirachi.

"Cut it out!" he said to her and ran to the lake they were parked near.

Ash heard this and ran after his cousin.

"Sorry." Mary apologized.

"Mark." Ash asked as he caught up with the younger boy. "What's wrong?"

"I only have a couple of days left with Jirachi." Mark told him.

Ash smiled. "Jirachi will be with you your whole life. Not just a few days."

"You know that's not true." Mark said.

"Friends are always with you in your heart. Especially if they're your best friends." Ash informed his young cousin. "A friend left me and I miss her everyday. But I know that we'll always be together. In here."

To emphasize, Ash placed a hand on his heart.

"Misty?" Mark asked.

"That obvious?" Ash asked with a laugh.

"Why don't you ask Jirachi…" Mark started.

"Like I told Aaron," Ash interrupted. "She could be in the middle of something important, or her sisters may not be back yet. I'm not going to put the gym through that. When she's ready, she'll come back. She has to."

0000

That night, Jirachi, Static, Mew, and Pikachu were up talking as the humans slept.

_So, Legendaries can go with either Ash or Aaron?_

"Mew. Mew mew mewmewmew." (Yes. And you get to choose.)

"Pikapi pika Pikachu pika." (Ash is going to be the Pokemon Master)

"Pika pikacha pika" (Aaron is going to be runner up.)

_But what about when I sleep?_

"Mew mew. Mew mewmew mew." (No problem. They only call us in emergencies or when they think we could use some fun)

"Pikachu pika cha pika" (When you go back home, you can go back to sleep)

0000

The next morning, Aaron was extra tired because Jirachi and Mew woke him up at 3 A.M.

"He sure is tired." Mary stated.

"Jirachi?" Marie asked. "Did you have anything to do with it?"

_Maybe._

0000

That evening, they made it to Verena. They camped out just outside of where they needed to take Jirachi.

"Go to sleep Mark." Mary ordered.

"Alright." Mark caved reluctantly. "But I probably won't be able to sleep knowing it's my last night with Jirachi."

Aaron grinned knowingly. If necessary, Jirachi could always teleport into the Legend ball and visit Mark. But Aaron wasn't going to announce it.

0000

The next evening, we find our heroes and Dianne walking through a cave in Verena. The comet had appeared in a hole in the roof and Jirachi started floating up to it.

"Jirachi!" Mark called.

_The star. It's calling me._

As Jirachi floated on its back and started to open its true eyes, Ash dug in his pocket and made the wish for the seventh night in a row.

Just then, some purplish-pink beams started to engulf Jirachi as it yelled in pain. Everyone looked and saw Butler.

"I will show those members of Team Magma REAL power!" Butler announced

"Butler!" Dianne yelled. "Stop this!"

"Dianne." He tried to reason with her. "This is what we've always wanted."

"I NEVER WANTED THIS!" she argued.

"Please tell me you have a large flying pokemon with you." Aaron begged his brother.

"Let's see." Ash thought. "Pikachu, Taillow, Typholosion, Treeko, Espeon, and Chancey. No. Unless you want to attempt to ride Taillow, but I don't think he'd be too happy about that. You?"

"Static, Corphish, Lotad, Umbreon, Bellosom, and Hitmonlee. No. We might have to go with Legendaries."

"And how are we supposed to do that without suspicion?" Ash asked.

"When you two come up with a plan," Marie said. "Let us know. We'll be up there saving Jirachi."

The twins looked and saw Mark, Brock, Andy, and Dianne up on the roof of the cave and Marie and Mark climbing onto a Flygon.

"Actually," Aaron said. "This works just fine."

0000

When the twins got out, they grabbed Mark and flew up to the machine that Jirachi was attached to.

"Jirachi!" Mark yelled. He jumped off Flygon and landed on the machine. He grabbed Jirachi and jumped off onto Flygon. However, the Groudon was finished.

As it rose from the ground, Butler, riding his Salamence, realized something: that was not a real Groudon.

As the Pokemon started walking, the plants around it started to whither and die.

"It's sucking energy from the Earth!" Dianne exclaimed as Salamence and Flygon landed. She ran to the magician. "Butler! Do something!"

"I can't." he said. "I have nothing up my sleeve."

"WHAT?!" Marie yelled.

Just then, a series of blue tubes came from the fake Groudon and started grabbing Pokemon and sucking them up. Including Absol.

"Uh oh." Mary said.

"Run?" Andy asked.

"Yeah." They all agreed as they started running.

"It wants Jirachi." Butler said as they ran.

"It's not taking him!" Mark vowed.

Just then, a tube caught up with the group and grabbed Andy, Brock, Mary, and Marie.

"MARIE!" Aaron yelled as he turned back.

"AARON!" she yelled back. "KEEP RUNNING! SAVE YOURSELF!"

"Are you nuts?" he asked as he reached for her hand.

"C'MON AARON!" Ash yelled. "YOU WON'T BE ANY HELP IF YOU GET CAPTURED!"

The Flygon came swooping down and the three boys and their pokemon got on.

"DIANNE!"

Dianne was also captured.

"SALAMENCE!" Butler yelled.

The blue pokemon came swooping down and Butler got on.

"I have an idea." Butler said to the boys.

0000

The next thing they knew, they were on the machine that created the monster.

"So, using Jirachi's power, we can send that…thing back to where it came from?" Aaron asked.

"Theoretically speaking." Butler said.

"That does not help." Ash said.

Butler hooked the fossil up and gave the thumbs up.

"Ready Jirachi?" Mark asked.

_Let's do it_

Jirachi started to power up. Just as it was about to reach maximum level, the Groudon sent a tube at it. Butler jumped between it and Jirachi.

"BUTLER!"

"At least," he said. "I'll be with Dianne."

As Butler was being sucked up, Jirachi hit maximum power and blew up the Groudon sending the machine with the three boys still on it down.

Ash and Aaron each grabbed one of their Legend Balls and let out a pokemon. Aaron grabbed Mark.

"Let go!" Aaron ordered.

"Are you crazy?" Mark asked.

"Just do it!" Ash told him.

As Mark let go of the railing, Aaron grabbed him and nodded.

They disappeared in flashes of light.

0000

"Marie? Marie?" a familiar voice rang through Marie's head.

She groaned and opened her eyes to see Aaron kneeling over her. As she woke up, his worried face changed into a grin.

"She'll be okay." He announced.

Marie looked around to see Ash and Mark tending to Mary, Butler hugging Dianne, Brock and Andy waking up on their own, and Celebi and Mew floating with Jirachi?

Marie blinked and looked at the legendaries again.

"What are Celebi and Mew doing here?" she asked

"Um." Aaron thought of an excuse, "They came to see what was up with the fake Groudon?"

Like last time, the two Pikachus slapped their heads.

_Mark!_

"Jirachi!" Mark exclaimed. "You're alright!"

"That's good." Brock said.

_You all made my wishes come true the past few days. Now I have one more wish._

"What's that?"

_I'm so sleepy. Sing that lullaby for me. One last time._

"We'll all do it." Marie said.

As the gang started humming, Butler and Dianne watched them. Jirachi closed his eyes, transformed into the cocoon, and floated below the Earth sending energy to Verena.

The twins looked down to see Mark's eyes filling up with tears.

0000

The next morning,

"AGGGHHHH!!!!"

"What is it Mary?" Mark asked.

"I forgot to make my wish last night!" she said holding up her wishing star.

Ash shook his head with a grin on his face as he snickered.

"What is so funny?" she threatened.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his full one.

"I made my final one just before Jirachi was captured." Ash told her.

"You BOUGHT one?!" Aaron asked.

TBC


	17. Wishes Really Do Come True

**Chapter 17: Wishes Really Do Come True**

A few weeks later, we find our heroes in a town.

"C'mon Ash, it's been almost a month. Tell me what you wished for!" Aaron demanded for the umpteenth time.

"No." Ash said for the umpteenth time.

"LOOK!" Mary pointed.

A blimp was coming from a hotel.

"Something is not right." Mark said.

"The rope!" Aaron pointed.

The group ran to the rope and grabbed the end of it. They climbed it and waited for the blimp to land.

"Why did we do that?" Mary asked after everyone was safe.

"This is what we do." Ash answered.

"Get used to it." Aaron added.

0000

A few minutes later, the blimp landed in another town with a castle and a temple that was decorated in the style of a Togepi egg.

"Where are we?" Andy asked.

"I've heard of this place." Marie said. "This is Mirage Kingdom."

"Prepare for trouble."

"And make it double."

"Huh?" the gang looked down to see two people dressed as priests talking to their prisoner who was hidden by part of the blimp.

"To infect the world with devastation."

"To blight all peoples in every nation"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love."

"To extend our wrath to the stars above."

"Cassidy"

"Butch"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night."

"Surrender now, or you'll surly lose the fight."

"Raticate" (That's Right).

"It's Team Rocket." Brock said.

"I didn't know they were in Hoenn." Mark said.

"They must have just gotten here." Aaron said.

"Great." Mary said sarcastically. "As if Aqua and Magma weren't enough."

"Give us the Togepi!" Butch ordered.

"NEVER!" the prisoner yelled. "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE TOGEPI FROM ME BOTCH!"

"THE NAME'S BUTCH!" Butch yelled.

Aaron recognized the prisoner's voice and turned to look at Ash. Ash had recognized it as well. There was a mixture of happiness and anger in his eyes.

"Nobody kidnaps my girlfriend and gets away with it." Ash said under his breath as he jumped off the blimp into some bushes as Pikachu followed.

"He's going to do something stupid isn't he?" Mary asked.

"Yep." Aaron answered. "I'd do the same thing if Marie was in Misty's place."

"That's Misty?" Mark asked.

"I only asked for a Togepi." Another man came onto the scene.

"Sorry sir." Cassidy said bowing to the man. "The brat came with it."

"Big mistake." Aaron said. "You don't call Misty a brat in front of Ash."

"Young lady." The man said. "Give me the Togepi."

"NEVER!" she yelled holding Togepi close to her chest.

"Togepriii" (I want Daddy)

"You leave me no choice." The man said. "Ninjask! Shedninja!"

Three bug pokemon appeared from behind the man.

"AAAGGGHHHH!!!!"

"Yep. That's Misty." Brock said with a small laugh.

"TOGEPI! METRONOME!" a familiar voice called.

"Togei?" (Daddy?)

"Ash?" Misty whispered

"Togi togi togi togi togi" Togepi started swinging his tiny arms back and forth as they started to glow blue.

"Togeprrri!" Togepi stopped and smokescreen came out covering the ground.

When the smoke cleared, Misty and Togepi were nowhere to be seen.

"FIND THEM! DON'T LET THAT TOGEPI GET AWAY!" the man yelled.

After Team Rocket and the man left, Aaron, Static, Brock, Andy, Marie, Mary, and Mark climbed down from their perch on the blimp.

"That was interesting." Mark said.

"I guess Ash whisked her away under the cover of smoke." Andy joked. "Then they'll live happily ever after."

"Lucky." Brock pouted.

0000

Meanwhile,

Ash and Misty were panting from the running. Ash had grabbed Togepi from Misty and gave her the handkerchief she gave him to shield her nose and mouth from the smoke caused by the little egg.

Misty smiled as she recognized the handkerchief, but the smile turned to a confused look as she saw Aaron hold Togepi. She could have sworn she gave the handkerchief to Ash.

"Aaron and I decided to wear different clothing." Ash explained as he noticed his girlfriend's face.

"Ash?" she asked.

"Yep." He told her.

Before either of them knew it, they were in another passionate kiss like the one they were in when they said goodbye.

Pikachu took Togepi and kept it occupied as the trainers kissed.

"Aaron is going to be so jealous." Ash said when they pulled out. "He was dressed in drag when Marie joined up."

"Do I WANT to know?" Misty asked with a laugh.

"Oh yeah." Ash laughed.

"Tell me later. What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"We saw a blimp come out of the hotel and we realized that something was up." Ash explained.

"Who else is back?" she asked.

"You're the last one." He informed her.

"Best for last." She bragged.

"Oh." Ash said as he remembered. "There are two more members: Mary and Mark. Mark is our cousin and Mary is his adopted sister. Mary just started training this year."

"I can't wait to meet them." Misty said.

"You better can't wait." Ash told her. "They have a sister named Christine."

Misty gasped. "Not the Christine…"

"I think so." Ash interrupted. "They were talking about how she's a female version of Brock."

"This ought to be good." She laughed. "Have you guys met her yet?"

"Not yet." He said before pausing. "I really missed you."

"Me too."

"Wishes do come true."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story"

"Well," Misty said. "Let's at least try to get some help."

"Right." Ash agreed. "Let's go to the castle."

0000

At the castle,

"And then this guy sent two Ninjask and a Shedninja to attack our friend." Aaron tattled on the man, Hanson, to the King.

"That's a lie." Hanson said.

"You have six eye witnesses Hanson." The queen said.

"They're only kids." Hanson argued.

"Guards!" the king yelled. "Arrest Hanson."

"I'll get you for this you little brats!" Hanson yelled at the kids as he was dragged away. "And your dumb Pikachu too!"

"Piiiikkkkaaaa" (Watch it) Static said with sparks coming from its cheeks.

"I think I prefer the term "Meddling Kids"." Andy said to no one in particular.

"Thanks for believing us Your Highness." Brock said bowing.

"Of course. Six to one seems more likely." The king said.

Just then, two pairs of footsteps were heard running in the hall.

A few seconds later, a guard appeared at the door.

"Sire." The guard said. "A Mr. Ash Ketchem and a Miss. Misty Waterflower wish to have an audience with you. Miss. Waterflower is a Togepi trainer."

"They're our friends." Marie said to the King.

"Let them enter." The king instructed.

Not two seconds later, Ash and Misty came into the throne room quickly and bowed to the royal family.

"Sire." Ash said still in his bow "We had recently managed to escape…"

"No need." Aaron interrupted. "We told them."

Ash and Misty straightened up and looked to the right to see the rest of the gang.

"What kept you?" Andy joked.

"Ten bucks they were making out." Brock said.

Ash and Misty glared at them

"Togepriii" (Hi Everybody.)

"A Togepi!" the Princess exclaimed. "Oh. How I wish one would come to me."

"Why?" Misty asked. "And why was that man after Togepi?"

"I'm afraid that Hanson was after your Togepi to acquire my throne." The king informed them.

"WHAT?!"

0000

That night, the gang was in Ash's room talking and catching up with Misty.

"How are things at the gym?" Andy asked.

"Busy." Misty answered. "My sisters are so generous. They left ME all the work."

"How did you escape?" Marie asked.

"Simple." Misty said. "Even though they had gotten back earlier, they wouldn't let me leave. I finally told them that, unlike them, I had a boyfriend that I missed. Then I took some of my Pokemon, left them some, and left the gym."

"I'm glad." Ash said to her.

"Me too." Misty said as she kissed him.

"Yuck." Mark said.

"Get used to it Mark." Andy said. "You're going to see a LOT of mushy stuff now that Misty and Marie are back."

"And I thought I had Max beat on that." Mark pouted. "He has to deal with May and Drew's lovey dovey stuff all the time."

"You get double what he gets." Mary teased.

"This is what you wished for, wasn't it?" Aaron said to his brother.

"You're just now figuring this out?" Ash answered as if it had been obvious.

0000

"Thanks for helping keep Togepi safe." Misty said to the King before they got on the next blimp home (well, at least to the town where the blimp left).

"It was no problem." The King said.

"Thank you for warning us about Hanson." Princess Sarah said.

"You're welcome." The kids said as they bowed to the royal family.

"You better be off now." The queen said. "The sooner you leave, the less chance you have of meeting Hanson again if he escapes."

"Right." They agreed.

Before getting onto the blimp, Ash and Misty pulled into a passionate kiss. They had been both worried about Togepi all night, and now everything was going to be alright. This time, nobody was able to cover Togepi's eyes.

"Toge. PRI"

Just then, Togepi started glowing white.

Ash and Misty pulled out of their kiss as they watched the baby pokemon grow.

"Chicku." (I grew!)

Everyone starred at the newly evolved Pokemon.

"You have a Togetic now!" Marie exclaimed.

"Remember when ours evolved?" Aaron asked his girlfriend.

"How can I forget?" she asked. "You were almost killed!"

"C'mon Togetic." Misty said.

"Toe" (Okay)

Togetic flew and landed on Misty's shoulder.

"Thanks again." They said to the Royal family as they boarded the blimp.

After it took off, the royal family stopped waving and turned to go back to the castle.

"Well," the lady-in-waiting said. "THAT was a sight."

"Yes." The queen agreed. "It's rare to see a Togepi evolve."

"Togi?" (Hello?)

Princess Sarah turned to the small voice and saw a small Togepi.

"Hello." she said kneeling in front of it.

"Togeprii!" (Mommy!)

The Togepi jumped into Sarah's arms and nuzzled her.

"You are definitely the heir to the throne." The king said to his daughter.

TBC

A/N: I couldn't bear to see Togetic leave the group.


	18. Christine

**Chapter 18: Christine**

A few weeks later, we find our completed group in Fallarbor Town for the Contest. (Togetic was now traveling in its Pokeball.)

"I'm so nervous." Mary said.

"Don't be." Misty told her. "I've seen you practice. You have skill."

Mary used her Beautifly again. This time, she went all the way. All of her training with the rest of the gang paid off. After a final battle against an Aron,

"I WOULD NOW LIKE TO PRESENT THE FALLARBOR CONTEST WINNER: MARY O'BRIEN!"

"Finally." Mary said holding the ribbon Ketchem style. "I've gotten a Fallarbor Contest Ribbon!"

"Oh no." Misty said in horror. "She sounds like Ash."

"Oh no." Marie also said in horror. "She sounds like Aaron."

"You two make it sound like it's a bad thing." Ash and Aaron said together.

0000

In Lavaridge, the twins battled the gym leader, Flannery, after Misty dragged Brock away.

Apparently, her grandfather, the original gym leader, was away writing Pokemon poetry and left her in charge. Misty was able to sympathize with her because Flannery had no idea where everything was. When everything started settling down, her grandfather made an appearance and judged the battles.

Aaron went first with Lotad and Dragonair. Lotad evolved into Lombre before fainting at the flames of Macargo. Dragonair pulled through.

An hour later, Ash was up next. He used Taillow and Feraligatr. Taillow evolved after defeating Slugma, but fainted at Macargo. Feraligatr then beat Macargo.

0000

After receiving the Heat badges, our heroes decided to take a little detour to the beach. They found a small tour boat that only last three hours.

Suddenly, a storm started to brew.

(A/N: Anybody else hearing the _Gilligan's Island_ Theme?)

"We best head for land." The tour guide said after the first hour.

Too bad the storm only got worse and started tossing the boat. Suddenly, a wave came and swept eight passengers and their pokemon off the ship.

00000

After the storm subsided, Ash woke up on a beach.

"I REALLY hate déjà vu." He moaned.

"Ash?" He heard his brother moan.

"Aaron? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Aaron said getting up. "You?"

Ash looked around to see everybody there. He checked his belt with the Pokeballs to see them all intact.

"I'm fine." Ash answered.

"NO MORE DÉJÀ VU!" Misty yelled.

"Déjà vu?" Mary asked.

"This is what happened to us after the St. Anne sunk." Brock explained.

"You were there?" Mary asked.

"These guys were believed to be dead." Andy told Mary and Mark.

"YOU were the dead people?" Mark asked.

"Well," Aaron said. "We might as well explore."

If our heroes had stayed any longer, they would have run into some unwanted company as two familiar people pulled up to the beach in a raft.

0000

About an hour into the exploring, something came swooping down on our heroes and then flew away. It was something that Ash did NOT want to see.

A living, breathing, Aerodactyl.

"Was that what I think it was?" Aaron asked.

"Why me?" Ash asked no one in particular after it flew away. "Why is it always me?"

Mary and Mark looked at him in confusion.

"He's seen one before." Misty explained.

"It nearly ate him." Brock added.

0000

Meanwhile, in the research center on that same island,

"That's when Dara and I got the idea to use the old amber together with the fossilized egg to see if we could bring it back to life." A very familiar trainer told his grandfather

"So you're reviving extinct Pokemon, Gary?" Professor Oak asked

"That's a really amazing achievement. Congratulations." Tracey added

"I'm afraid Congratulations aren't exactly in order." Gary said.

He opened a door to reveal a room that was in a mess.

"What happened?" Tracey asked.

"This is where we revived the Aerodactyl." Gary explained.

"We tried to catch it." Gary said continued.

"But we can't even get close to it." The other researcher, Dara, said.

Just then, a younger girl (about Mark's age) came up and looked in the door.

"That's him?" she asked gaining the attention of the room's occupants.

"I thought the Great Professor Oak would look…I don't know…Great and stuff." She continued. "You're just a plain old grandpa."

"Plain old grandpa?" Professor Oak repeated.

"I told you to stay in your room until it was safe!" Dara yelled. "I'm sorry. That's Crystal, my little sister."

"Did you tell him it was me who discovered the fossil egg, or are you grown-ups taking credit for everything?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah we told him." Gary said. "Sort of."

"Speaking of the egg," Oak said. "We have to find that Aerodactyl. If it's as hostile as you say, it could be quite bad if it crosses the sea and starts wrecking havoc on the people in town."

"Guys!" a blond girl about Brock and Andy's age came running into the lab

"Anything?" Gary asked.

"I saw the Aerodactyl over by the West End of the island." She said. "Oh. You must be Professor Oak and Tracey."

"Yes." Oak said. "And you are?"

"This is Chris. She's our specialist on Pokemon breeding." Gary introduced

"So Gary." Christine said crossing her arms. "When do I get to meet this Breeder friend of yours? He sounds cute"

"Actually, he's a friend of a friend." Gary admitted.

"You mean Brock?" Tracey asked.

"Yeah." Gary said. "I think he and Chris will get along great. They both breed pokemon, both can be flirts, and, from what Ash has said, Brock can cook, but, from what I've seen, Chris can't boil water. So, with him around, she can pick up a few things."

"Watch it Oak." Christine said dangerously.

0000

A few minutes later,

Everyone was outside looking for the Aerodactyl. Including our heroes who wanted a better look at it.

"We'll never find it." Aaron sighed leaning against a tree.

"Good." Ash said looking behind him. (not all of our heroes wanted to see it again.)

"We have to concentrate." A familiar female voice from above said. "This Aerodactyl could be hiding anywhere."

The gang looked up to see Butch and Cassidy sitting in a tree looking at the lab through binoculars.

"It's Butch and Cassidy." Misty whispered.

"Pikachu?" (Want me to shock them?)

"Not yet." Aaron told his Pikachu.

"I know." Butch said. "According to the drawing, it's really small."

"Small?" Mark asked.

"And I thought Jessie and James were idiots." Misty said.

Just then, and Aerodactyl flew up to the villains and roared in their faces before flying off. The roar caused Team Rocket to fly off the tree into another.

"That looked an awful lot like the drawing." Cassidy said. "But I thought it was 11 inches."

"You see." Butch said. "I told you those little markings next to the numbers meant feet."

"We're going to need a bigger net." Cassidy told her partner.

"That won't be a problem." Butch said.

"Let's get out of here." Aaron whispered.

"Right." The rest of the gang agreed.

0000

In another part of the forest,

"I can't believe I ever thought I'd make a good researcher." Gary said downcast. "I mean, all I ever wanted was to be the best and to make you proud Grandpa."

"Why are you being so hard on yourself?" Professor Oak asked his grandson. "You revived an Aerodactyl."

"Yeah Gary." Tracey added. "That's amazing."

"But, I didn't think about what could happen." Gary argued. "That was wrong of me."

"We learn from our mistakes Gary." Professor Oak told him.

"Your old rival wouldn't get so discouraged." Tracey added.

"You mean Ash?" Gary asked perking up. "How's he doing? Have you heard from him?"

"Yes. He contacted us just the other day. It sounds like he and Aaron are on a badge collecting spree." Professor Oak said.

"And it sounds like they've captured a whole lot of new pokemon." Tracey finished the Ketchem update.

"That's so great!" Gary exclaimed. "Maybe I should have stayed on my journey to become a trainer rather than deciding to be a researcher." Gary thought out loud.

"Don't say that." Chris said coming up to the group. "You'll make a fine researcher. I'm a top Pokemon Coordinator, and I didn't earn my first ribbon until my third contest. By the way, I heard some movement over by the field."

0000

A few minutes later, the researchers came to the field to find Aerodactyl trapped in a net and Butch and Cassidy trying to drag it away.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Christine yelled at them.

"To infect the world with devastation."

"To blight all peoples in every nation"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love."

"To extend our wrath to the stars above."

"Cassidy"

"Butch"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night."

"Surrender now, or you'll surly lose the fight"

"It's Cassidy!" Tracey exclaimed.

"And Butcher." Professor Oak added.

"IT'S NOT BUTCHER! IT'S BUTCH!" Butch yelled

"We'll be taking that Aerodactyl now." Cassidy said.

"Oh no you're not!" Gary said releasing his Umbreon.

"Houndour! Go!" Cassidy yelled

"Hitmontop! Come on out!" Butch added.

"EVERYBODY!" our heroes called out their pokemon from the bushes.

Suddenly, Umbreon was joined by a crowd of pokemon blocking the Aerodactyl from Team Rocket.

"Where did all of those pokemon come from?" Dara asked.

The crowd of pokemon consisted of a Corphish, Lombre, Dragonair, Umbreon, Bellosom, Feraligatr, Swellow, Treeko, Espeon, Jigglypuff, 2 Togetics, Golduck, Politoed, Tentacruel, Chansey, Mr. Mime, Kangaskan, Larvitar, Unown (A), Charizard, Flareon, Growlithe, Rapidash, Typhlosion, Fortress, Ryhorn, Torchic, Beutifly, and an Oddish.

"Um." Butch said uneasily. "Cassidy. I'm not liking the way those pokemon are looking at us."

"Me neither." Cassidy agreed. "But we're Team Rocket. We'll just capture these as well as the Aerodactyl."

Just then, two Pikachus joined the group.

"I know one of those Pikachus." Tracey said with a grin.

"Piiiiiii" (Ready)

"Kaaaaa" (Set)

"CHHHHUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!" (ATTACK!)

The Pikachus' thunders lead the variety of attacks preformed by the other pokemon.

"UMBREON! USE SHADOW BALL!" Gary instructed his own to join the fray.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" ding

The pokemon celebrated their victory. In the confusion, Aerodactyl got away.

"I'm so proud." Aaron wiped a fake tear. "We didn't need the Legendaries."

"And how would they have gotten here?" Marie asked.

"Uh." Aaron thought of an excuse. "Luck?"

"Jiggly" (A crowd.)

"Why does that Jigglypuff have a microphone?" Crystal asked.

"RUN!" Tracey yelled as he recognized it.

"Jigglypuff! Return!" a familiar voice called as the researchers took only one step.

"No concert today." The voice said stepping out from the bushes holding the pokeball.

"A…" Gary started as he looked confused.

"Ash." Ash told his old rival.

"We decided a change in wardrobe was necessary." Aaron said stepping out.

"At least warn me." Gary said shaking Ash's hand. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise." Ash said returning the gesture.

"Gary, I have a question." Misty said as she and Marie stepped out of hiding.

"Shoot." Gary said.

"Where did that Aerodactyl come from?" she asked him.

"I revived it."

"Don't you remember what happened in Grandfather Canyon concerning an Aerodactyl and a Charizard?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. I thought it was a dream."

"No it wasn't." Ash said. "And if you remember, WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO REVIVE ONE!?"

"Because we learned that not all Aerodactyls were carnivores." Gary explained. "The one we revived was discovered to have eaten fruit."

"Interesting." Marie said as Ash calmed down.

"Hold on." Chris said to Gary as she pointed to Ash. "Is this the friend who has the friend who's a breeder?"

"Yeah. Ash, Aaron, this is Christine O'Brien. She's our specialist in breeding."

"O'Brien?" Aaron asked in fake awe. "Any relation to Mary and Mark O'Brien?"

"My siblings." She said. "Well, Mary's adopted, but I love her like a sister by blood."

"That is so sweet." Mary said stepping out of hiding. "I love you too, Chris."

"Mary? Mark?" Christine asked as she saw her siblings.

"So," Brock said as he came out of hiding in girl mode. "You're Christine. Hi. I'm Brock."

"He's the breeder I've told you about." Gary said.

"Really?" Christine said flirtatiously, "Well, I guess we'll have to have dinner together to talk about breeding techniques."

"Dinner? You and me? Together?" Brock said shocked. A girl was suggesting a date. With HIM!

"Of course." She said.

Brock was in shock.

"You have to excuse him." Misty said. "This is rare."

0000

The gang went back to the lab and did some research on Aerodactyl. They found that this one was indeed a vegetarian. After discovering what fruit it ate, they found where it grew on the island and went there to discover Aerodactyl was already there.

"Be careful." Professor Oak told Gary as the young researcher picked a piece of the fruit and went up to the pokemon.

"Don't worry." Gary said.

Everyone watched in anticipation as Gary walked over to Aerodactyl and gave it the piece of fruit as a sign of friendship.

"Amazing." Andy said.

0000

"Aerodactyl! LUNCH!" Crystal yelled the next day.

The Aerodactyl snuck up behind her and gulped all of the fruit that was in the basket.

"Agh! You scared me!" she said.

"Crystal!" Dara called "Time to say goodbye!"

Professor Oak, Tracey, and the rest of the gang were at the dock saying goodbye to Dara, Gary, and Christine.

"I really enjoyed dinner last night." Christine said to Brock.

"Brock's an excellent cook." Ash said putting in a good work for his friend.

"If you like," Brock said to her. "I can give you the recipe."

"No thanks. I'd probably butcher it." She said.

"That's the truth." Mark said just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Watch it Bro." Christine warned.

"I'll see you again." Crystal said. "Right Mark?"

"You bet!"

"Thanks for showing us around Gary." Mary said to Ash's old rival.

"No problem." Gary said.

"Take care, Gary." Professor Oak told his grandson.

"I will. Maybe the next time I see you guys I'll have revived a Kabuto or an Omanyte."

"Maybe." Ash said. "Just warn us next time."

"I'll try." Gary said.

0000

After stopping by Verdanturf so Mary can earn her second ribbon (which she did by using her Torchic), our heroes take a detour to Petalburg to see Mark and Mary's parents.

"MOM! WE'RE BACK!" Mark called.

"Mark?" Julie asked coming into the entry way. "What are you doing home?"

"Just stopping by." Mark said as he hugged his mother. "We saw Chris."

"Really? How is she?"

"She's fine." Mary answered. "Check this out."

"Two ribbons already!" Julie exclaimed. "You'll be up there with Chris yet."

"I know." Mary said.

"Where are Ash and Aaron?" Julie asked.

The original gang had gone to battle Norman again for a Trainer battle.

"They went to battle Norman again." Mark told her. "Where's Dad?"

"He's at work." Julie told him. "There is a conference coming up in a few months. He's suppose to be getting the details on it."

KNOCK KNOCK

Mary, being closest to the door, opened it to reveal the rest of the gang.

"Hi!" they said.

"How did the battle go?" she asked.

"Great." Ash said. "Treeko evolved."

"That's great!" Mark exclaimed. "Mom, these are Marie, Misty, Brock, and Andy. They're Ash and Aaron's friends."

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. O'Brien." Misty said shaking Julie's hand.

"It's nice to meet you too. And please, call me Julie."

0000

After staying the night at the O'Briens, the gang set out to Fortree so the Twins could earn their sixth badge.

The journey to Fortree was long but rewarding. They found another contest for Mary in Rubello which she won; her Torchic evolved into a Combusken; Misty's female Nidoran, which she caught in the Safari Zone evolved into a Nidorina

When they finally arrived, they found out that there was a fair.

"Cool!" Mark said running around. "I want to go on that ride!"

Suddenly, a pretty girl walked by. Misty prepared herself for Brock's obsession. Oddly, nothing happened.

"Brock?" Andy asked. "A pretty girl just walked by."

"So?" Brock asked.

Everybody starred at him.

"HE'S CURED!" Aaron shouted

"Well, Christine and I talked at dinner that night, and we decided to try going steady. It turns out that we have a LOT in common."

Ash and Misty snickered quietly. They were certain that Christine O'Brien was the same Christine Misty mentioned to herself during their time travel adventure.

"I'm sure you'll make it work out." Marie said.

"You do realize that if he marries Christine, he'd be related to us?" Ash told his brother.

"Oh well." Aaron said. "I think we should celebrate. LAST ONE TO THE HAUNTED HOUSE IS A ROTTEN EXEGGCUTE!"

"Great." Marie said sarcastically.

0000

During the festival, the twins met Winona, Mary won a Chimecho, and everyone just had a great time.

The next day, they went up to the gym and battled Winona for the Feather badge. Ash used Swellow, Grovyle, and Pikachu. Aaron used Static, Pidgeot, and Dragonair. Both twins won it. Ash got the brilliant idea to teach Areal Ace to his Swellow.

0000

"Hey Ash." Aaron whispered to his sleeping brother that night.

"What?" Ash answered.

"I was going through my Legend Balls and was wondering how many you had."

"It's not a contest Aaron."

"I know. I was just curious."

There was silence as Ash thought.

"Seven" Ash answered. "What about you?"

"Eight." Aaron told him.

"How'd you get more than me?"

"I have Entei, Latios, Lucario, Lugia, Mew, Raikou, Zapdos, and Jirachi"

"When did you capture Jirachi?"

"The night before the day I was so tired. Jirachi woke me up at three in the morning."

TBC


	19. This Side of Paradise

A/N: Chapter 19 – 21 are one adventure (like Chapters 44 – 46 in Johto/Kanto). It just turned out longer than I thought so I broke it up like I did with the eight movie in the last story.

P.S. Mary DOES find a guy.

**Chapter 19: This Side of Paradise **

In Larousse, our heroes got off the tram so Ash and Aaron could compete in the Battle Tower.

After our heroes got their IDs, Ash and Aaron ran to the Battle Tower. They figured if they ran on the moving sidewalks, they'd move twice as fast. When they got on one, they were running but weren't moving.

"What's wrong with this sidewalk?" Aaron asked as he ran even harder.

Marie got onto the same sidewalk and started walking on it to her boyfriend. As she walked, she tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to it. Ash and Aaron looked down to find that they were going against the current.

0000

When the twins finally made it to the Battle Tower, they registered while the rest of the gang went to go find seats.

When the twins rose to the stadium, they found that it was huge and packed.

"Good thing this is a tag battle." Aaron whispered

"Pika" (Yeah) Static said.

Suddenly, the other two trainers entered the same way the twins did, but on the other side of the stadium. It was a white haired boy, a black haired girl, and a Pikachu. The boy looked scared to death.

"WELCOME TO THE BATTLE TOWER!" The announcer called. "TODAY, OUR FIRST BATTLE WILL BE A TAG BATTLE BETWEEN ASH AND AARON OF PALLET, AND ASHLEY OF PALLET AND TORY, A LOCAL TRAINER!"

Ash and Aaron looked at each other in confusion. Ashley of Pallet? It looked the only Ashley they knew, but it was impossible. She wasn't supposed to have been BORN yet. Could it be?

"BEGIN!"

They decided to find out after the battle. Ash called out Typhlosion and Aaron called out Static.

Ashley sent her Pikachu out and then turned to Tory. Nothing happened.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Tory was telling her. "I'm not a trainer."

"Here." Ashley said handing him a pokeball. "You can use one of mine."

Tory threw the ball and a Kirlia came out.

The battle was a disaster for Ashley and Tory. Ash and Aaron where in perfect sync. However, Ashley and Tory were doing their own thing. Well, Ashley was. Tory wasn't doing anything except looking scared to death.

"ELECTRICA! KIRLIA!" Ashley yelled.

"PIKACHU AND KIRLIA ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE! THE WINNERS ARE ASH AND AARON!"

0000

"I'm sorry." Tory apologized to Ashley as they left the stadium.

"TORY!" a man yelled running up to the two kids.

"Daddy?"

"I saw the battle." Tory's father said. "I'm incredibly proud."

"Don't be." Tory said. "It was an accident. It wasn't supposed to happen."

With that Tory ran for it.

"If you'll excuse me," Ashley said. "I have to find my friends. I finally figured out how one minute we were falling off a cliff in a foggy forest and the next minute in a big city."

After she left, Ash and Aaron came out of the stadium to find Ashley to ask her a few questions, but found Tory's dad and his assistant looking baffled.

"Excuse us!" Aaron called to the adults. "What's going on?"

0000

"We apologize for the mix-up with your battle against those two." The assistant, Yuko, said to Ash and Aaron at lunch. "You see, Tory is completely afraid of pokemon."

"No wonder we won so easily." Aaron said.

"How can he be afraid of pokemon?" Ash asked.

"Well, four years ago, Tory had a very traumatic experience, and it left him terrified of them."

"That's terrible." Misty said.

"Sadly, he hasn't managed to get over those fears." Yuko continued.

0000

In another part of the city, Tory was sitting as he was reflecting on the battle. He didn't mean to make Ashley loose. She had only been looking for the entrance to the stadium. However, her Pikachu had scared him.

Suddenly, there was a tug on his shirt. Tory looked and saw it was a Pichu.

"Agh!" he screamed. "Shoo!"

But the Pichu didn't shoo. It seemed to be panicking.

"Pi pi chu!" (You need to help us!)

The Pichu led Tory to a falling garbage can where a Plusle and Minun were trying to get another Pichu out. Somehow, the poor thing had managed to get stuck in it.

Tory felt sorry for the pre-evolved form of Pikachu. So, he grabbed a long stick and used it as a lever.

When the Pichu came out, it hugged the other Pichu.

"PICHU!" (I'M FREE!)

"Min?" (You ok?)

"Pi" (Yep)

"Plu Plu plu" (This guy saved you)

"Pi?" (Really?)

The Pichu turned to Tory who tensed.

"Pichu!" (Thank you)

The Pichu jumped to hug Tory, but missed because Tory had jumped back.

"Pi?" (Huh?)

"Later!" Tory said to the four electric pokemon.

"Chu?" (What happened?)

"Min mine" (Must be scared)

"Pichu chu pi!" (Let's go jump on more garbage cans!)

"Min!" "Pichu!" "Plu!" (OK)

0000

In another part of the city,

"NO WAY! You battled WHO?"

"You heard me Cuz." Ashley told her cousin. "That's why I think a certain green pokemon saved us from that fall off the cliff in the forest."

"It's no wonder you lost." Her "boyfriend" said.

"Watch it Gabe." She warned. "My partner wasn't much help."

"He stunk?" Her female second cousin asked.

"He's not a trainer." Ashley told her. "I can't say for sure, but I think he's scared to death of Pokemon."

"How can you tell?" her male cousin asked.

"He tensed up when I handed him Kirlia."

"Maybe we can help." Ashley's female cousin (a young girl with dark brown hair with blond highlights and blue eyes) said.

"How?" Ashley asked.

"We find the boy, and make friends with him."

"Really creative Karen." Gabe said sarcastically.

0000

About 15 minutes later,

Ash, Aaron, and the rest of the gang went looking for Tory and found him arguing with Ashley.

"I'm only trying to help!" Ashley was telling Tory

"Well don't!" Tory argued back.

"Ashley! Calm down!"

"Shut up Gabe!"

"Gabe?" Aaron asked. "I'm really starting to think that…"

"It's them." Ash finished. "I don't know how, but it's them."

Andy put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly ganging everybody's attention.

"You were right." Bailey whispered.

"What's going on?" Misty asked.

"It's none of your business." Ashley said hoping Misty didn't recognize her.

"I have an idea." Brock said before Misty could scold Ashley.

0000

A few minutes later, our heroes from the present and future (if you hadn't guessed already) were in the park crowded over a pot of fondue.

"Perfect." Brock said as he tested his recipe. "Dig in."

"It's hot!" Aaron said as he put a piece of bread dipped in the fondue in his mouth. "YUM!"

"There's nothing that can stop an argument better than a bunch of full mouths." Brock said.

"By the way," Ash said to Tory. "I'm Ash. These are Aaron, Andy, Brock, Marie, Mary, Mark, Misty, Pikachu, and Static."

"We have a big group." Aaron stated as if he just realized it.

"And as you know, I'm Ashley." Ashley added the intros. "And these are Gabe, my cousin Bailey, my second cousin, Karen, and my Pikachu, Electrica

"I bet Karen's Brock's and Christine's daughter?" Aaron whispered to Ash.

"Yeah. I wonder if Brock's caught on?" Ash said.

He did. During the conversation, Brock was doing a very tiny happy dance. It would have been with WAY more feeling, but he did not want to gain attention

Suddenly, a group of Pokemon showed up.

"Wow!" Karen said. "Look!"

"Well, Hi." Brock said carrying some Pokemon food. "There's plenty of Pokemon food, so don't be shy."

He placed the food bowls on the ground and the pokemon started to eat.

"Hey Tory?" Mary asked. "Aren't they the cutest things?"

"Yeah." Tory agreed.

"I bet they'd let you pet them." Ash said.

"Pika!" (Yeah.)

Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder that was closest to Tory and reached out.

Tory started to move his hand towards Pikachu, but pulled back and started to run. Then, he stopped and turned around.

"Thanks guys. I'm sorry." Tory apologized before continuing to run.

"So close, and yet, so far." Andy said.

"I'm sure we'll get through to him eventually." Brock said.

"By the way," Misty said to Ashley. "We know."

"What?" Ashley asked innocently

"Who you are." Marie stated.

"How long?" Bailey groaned.

"Since the battle. Ashley of Pallet?" Ash said. "I'm from Pallet Town and I know practically everyone there."

Suddenly, a Plusle, Minun, and two Pichus showed up.

"It's a Plusle, Minun, and Pichu." Mark said.

"Hi cuties." Mary said.

"Pikachu!" (Hi guys)

"PIchu!" (Hi Pikachu!)

"Pikachu? Do you know those Pichu?" Ash asked.

"Pi! Pikachu pichu pika" (Yeah! They're the Pichu Brothers.)

0000

It was now sunset, and a strange aurora appeared over Larousse.

The gang was on the balcony looking at the aurora.

"Odd." A familiar voice said behind them.

Everyone turned to see Chris looking at the aurora.

"We're too far south to be seeing one of these."

"Chris?" Mary and Mark asked.

"Hey guys." Christine said. "Hi Brock."

"Hi Christine." Brock said.

"Small world." Another voice said at the door as Chris came onto the balcony.

"Gary?" Ash asked.

"Hey Ash. Here for the Battle Tower?" Gary asked as he joined the crowd.

"Yeah. What about you?" Ash asked.

"There's a conference here for researchers and assistants." Christine explained.

"Hi Crystal." Mark said noticing Dara's little sister who just entered.

"Hi Mark." She said.

"Who are your friends?" Gary asked noticing the younger kids.

"Oh." Ash said with a grin on his face. "These are Ashley, Bailey, Karen, and Gabe. Some younger trainers we met before. Kids, this is Christine O'Brien and Gary Oak."

"Gabe?" Karen asked. "Isn't Gary the name of your Dammph."

Gabe had covered Karen's mouth at this.

"Ixnay." He told her. "Gary is a very common name."

"Hi guys." Tory said as he also came onto the balcony.

"Tory?" Aaron asked.

"Yuko and I made these." Tory said as he showed a picnic basket full of Pokemon cookies.

"I have an idea." Aaron said.

0000

A few minutes later, our heroes were on the playground next to the Pokemon Center.

"COME ON OUT!" Ash and Aaron yelled as they released their pokemon.

Within three seconds, Corphish, Lombre, Umbreon, Bellosom, Pidgeot, Typhlosion, Swellow, Espeon, Dragonair, and Grovyle were out.

Everyone else realized where the twins were going.

Marie let out Mr. Mime, Togetic, Chansey, Unown, Larvitar, and Kangaskan while Misty let out Golduck, Togetic, Tentacruel, and Nidorina. Brock and Andy called out Fortress, Ryhorn, Charizard, Flareon, Growlithe, Rapidash, Typhlosion. Mary called out her Torchic, Beautifly, Oddish, and Chimecho.

"Great idea!" Ashley said as she called out Kirlia, Munchlax, Togepi, Illumise, and a Glacia.

"What Pokemon is that?" Christine asked as she let out her Dragonite, Swampert, Gardevoir, Milotic, Delcatty, and a Pikachu.

"Glacia." Gabe answered as he released his Blastoise, Leafia, Manetric, Xatu, Growlithe, and Volbeat.

"It's another Eevee evolution." Bailey explained. "Ice type. And Leafia there is Eevee's grass evolution. C'mon out everybody!"

Bailey released a Venusaur, Roselia, Mime Jr., Pidgeotto, Snorunt, and Nuzleaf

"The last time I saw this many Pokemon was when I was helping at Grandpa's lab." Gary said as he released Umbreon, Dodrio, Alakazam, Blastoise, and Arcanine.

"COME ON OUT!" Karen yelled as she released her Charizard, Metagross, Sudowoodo, Skitty, Ralts, and Pikachu.

"Think we've got enough Pikachus?" Andy asked as Aaron's, Ash's, Ashley's, Christine's, and Karen's Pikachu all got in a group and started introducing themselves.

"TIME TO PLAY!" Ashley called over the noise of the Pokemon.

"Hey Chris." Mark said. "Why don't you sing that song?"

"Song? Oh!" Christine said. "Sure. Why not?"

Christine dug in her bag and pulled out a CD and a portable boom box.

"I have the karaoke version with the backup singers." She explained "Hit it Mark!"

Mark pushed the play button as Christine made her way to the top of the playground with a stick and held it up like a microphone.

(A/N: I don't own this song. _Christine**. Backup singers**_."

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_There's a place I know_

_It's always jumping_

_I'm thinking we should go and leave our worries_

_You got a friend in me_

_And I'll tell you something_

_This time could be extraordinary_

_When shadows fall, you're feeling small_

_It looks like walls are closing in_

_Don't be afraid, the dark will fade_

_Just take my hand and look again._

_This side of paradise_

_Is where I want to be_

_This side of paradise_

_For you and me_

_This side of paradise_

_What you get is what you see_

_And I never thought I'd see a place as nice_

_This side of paradise_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_We're gonna take a ride_

_We're gonna catch that train_

_When you're at my side, the world has hope, and _

_As we pass on by_

_We all look the same_

_The clouds are high, the world is open_

_Forget about the pain and doubt_

_Your happiness is overdue_

_**Ahhh**_

_I've been dreaming of (**dreaming of**) the skies above_

_Dancing through the stars with you (_Pointing at Brock

_Oh, take me to_

_This side of paradise_

_Is where I want to be_

_This side of paradise_

_For you and me_

_This side of paradise_

_What you get is what you see_

_And I never thought I'd see a place as nice_

_This side of paradise_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_This side of paradise_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_For you and me_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_This side of paradise_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

_Dreaming_

_**La-la la-la-la**_

_**La la-la-la la **_

Throughout the song, everyone played with the Pokemon. Even Tory.

Ash looked and saw Tory leaving the group after a bought of laughter when the song ended.

"Hey." he said when he caught up to him. "What's up?"

"I've never done that before." Tory told him.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Just playing together with a bunch of friends." Tory explained. "I guess it's because I'm so afraid of Pokemon, I'm afraid to get close to trainers too. Guess I've missed out on a lot."

"That means you're always alone." Ash thought out loud. "But that's all in the past, right?"

"Pikachu." (Right?)

Tory looked at Pikachu and nodded. Then, with a determined look on his face, he reached out to pet the electric mouse.

"Corphish!" (Hi)

"Aah!" Tory yelled as he was caught off guard, jumped up, and ran a few steps.

"It's okay." Ash told him. "There's no rush."

"Okay." Tory said taking a deep breath.

"That's my brother's Corphish." Ash explained.

"Cor...phish?" (What was that about?)

0000

The next morning, Tory brought the gang (Minus Christine, Crystal, and Gary who were at the conference) over to the Botanical Gardens. Karen had her Pikachu out on her shoulder.

"C'mon guys. There's someone I want you to meet." Tory said.

"Passport please." A security robot came up.

Tory placed his ID onto the screen.

"Verified!" the robot said.

"My Dad's lab is over there." Tory explained "That's why there are so many security robots.

0000

In the garden, Tory ran over to a waterfall

"Come on out! I'm with my new friends! Come and meet them!" Tory called.

Everyone looked around and soon a green light appeared and started floating around.

"This is your friend?" Bailey asked.

"Yeah. It's always here for me whenever I call it." Tory told everybody.

"What is it?" Gabe asked.

"Is it a Pokemon?" Andy asked.

"Not one I've ever seen." Marie stated.

The green light moved around and checked everybody out.

"I can't believe Gary and Chris are missing this!" Mary said.

0000

Gary and Chris were about to fall asleep. Chris was only there because of her connection with her father and Dara. She should have gone with Mary and Mark. Chances are they were having more fun than her even if they were just sitting around and doing nothing.

As for Gary, even though Professor Lund was talking about regeneration, it was a dull subject. Gary knew about regeneration to a degree. It wasn't as if he revived that Aerodactyl knowing nothing. But what Lund was talking about was what Gary already knew.

The Conference Hall was filled with scientist from all over. You name them, they were there. Professors Oak, Ivy, Elm, Birch, Hale, Westwood, and Rowan were just a few of them. It wasn't even Professors. Assistants such as Dan and Tracey were there and, of course, families were also present.

Suddenly, on the big screen, Officer Jenny appeared.

"Professor Lund. Rayquaza had just entered Larousse." Jenny told the entire auditorium.

This got everybody's attention. How come Rayquaza was here?

"Show the surveillance cameras." Professor Lund told Jenny. "There has to be a powerful reason for Rayquaza to leave the Ozone Layer."

Jenny showed nine different screens on the big screen. Suddenly, Yuko saw something.

"Replay screen five!" Yuko said.

The middle screen rewound and played again.

"Stop!" Yuko told Jenny. "Can you magnify it?"

"Of course" Jenny said.

The middle screen then took up the whole screen showing all the researchers a Pokemon only few people had seen before. It was a red thing with a purple crystal in the center flying across the sky.

"It's Deoxys." Professor Lund said. "Rayquaza must have come here after sensing Deoxys was here as well. If those two battle it out in our city...the result will be catastrophic. We have to evacuate Larousse City immediately."

He then turned to the rest of the researchers. "I'll explain when we leave Larousse. I have to go get my son."

0000

Professor Lund was having difficulty getting to his son. Going against the current, he managed to push through to a certain point. However, Deoxys had spotted Rayquaza and put up a force field, knocking Professor Lund into the water. He was pulled up by Officer Jenny, Julie O'Brien, and Sarah and Delia Ketchem.

"Are you okay?" Delia asked

"I'm fine." Professor Lund said. "Did all of the researchers get out okay?"

"I think so." Julie told him. "Even though I haven't seen Yuko anywhere"

"Professor." Jenny said. "Yuko isn't the only one stuck."

0000

A few minutes later, Professor Lund and the three women made their way to the computer after meeting up with the other researchers.

"These people's evacuations weren't confirmed at any of the checkpoints. I'm afraid that means, they're still stuck in Larousse." Jenny said

Sure enough, Tory's and Yuko's pictures were up on the screen with a bunch of others.

"Ash!" Emily said pointing to the screen

"Aawon!" Elizabeth added following her sister's example as she saw the other picture next to the one Emily was pointing at.

Delia and Julie looked at where the twins were pointing

"OH NO!" the two women gasped loudly.

Everyone turned to them as they went pale as they saw Aaron's, Ash's, Mary's, and Mark's pictures on the screen.

"Ash really knows where to be when there's a rare pokemon around." Professor Oak said.

"Not again." Delia groaned.

"Lund." Professor Rowan asked. "What was that thing?"

"Yes." Professor Elm added. "You called it Deoxys?"

"Yes. That's what I was getting at with my lecture." Lund explained. "You see, four years ago, when I was studying up in the Arctic, a meteorite hit the Earth..."

0000

In Larousse, the gang had managed to get out of the garden when the computers shut down due to the force field. After having a close run with Deoxys, they managed to meet up with Yuko.

"The computers are down." Yuko explained in the hideout. "Any communication with the outside world is impossible."

"Even the Pokeball management system is down." Marie said as she tried to activate her pokeball.

"Ash?" Aaron whispered. "What about the L.Bs?"

"L.Bs?" Ash asked before realizing. "Oh!"

Ash looked in his bag and pulled a Gold Ball into view, but not out of the bag. When he expanded it, it worked.

"They work. But how will we explain it?" Ash said.

"I was just wondering." Aaron said. "Hey Tory! What did you call that thing?"

"Wasn't it Deoxys?" Ash asked.

"Yeah." Tory answered.

"That's right." Yuko said. "A Pokemon from outer space."

"Where have we heard THAT before?" Misty asked sarcastically.

"This time it's for real." Yuko said. "Four years ago, a meteorite came down and struck the North Pole. And located inside was an unknown Pokemon. Professor Lund gave it the name "Deoxys". Then, almost immediately, Rayquaza came from the Ozone and attacked Deoxys."

"Why?" Karen asked.

"Rayquaza must have thought Deoxys was invading its territory and felt threatened." Marie said.

"Right." Yuko said. "After the attack, Deoxys vanished into the sea."

"But, if Deoxys was beaten, how could it be the same?" Brock asked.

"After the defeat, Deoxys must have been slowly regenerating. It has extraordinary regenerative powers. That's what Professor Lund and I have been studying and presenting today at the conference."

"I wonder if, somehow, it can come in...through a crack in the wall?" Mark asked frightened.

"Don't be ridiculous." Mary said to her foster brother.

Suddenly, there was a noise from the vents. Static, Pikachu, Electrica, and Karen's Pikachu, Lightning, stood ready. The vent opened and Plusle, Minun, and the Pichu Brothers came tumbling out with a Munchlax right behind them.

"Pikaaa." (You guys!)

"Pikachu pika?" (Do you want to give us heart attacks)

"Mine" (Sorry.)

"Plu Plu (We were attacked by those weird things.)

"Pichu! Pi chu pi!" (Look Bro! It's the guy who saved me!)

Tory tensed as the Pichus noticed him.

"Wait. Hold on!" Tory said as the Pichu Brothers went scampering to him. "Just don't come any closer you two."

Once Pikachu and Static got the Pichus settled down, everyone laughed at their cuteness

0000

On the ferry outside the force field,

"Here." Dan said putting his jacket around his wife who was on deck looking at the city. "You'll catch cold."

"I'm worried Dan." Delia admitted. "Our boys are still in there with that Pokemon."

"At least Rayquaza is out here." Dan told her. "You heard Lund. If Rayquaza and Deoxys battled it out, well, there's no telling what can happen. And Ash and Aaron are resourceful. They'll find a way to pull through."

"They always have and always will." Professor Oak said coming up from behind them.

"How are the girls?" Delia asked.

"Sound asleep after some reassuring that Ash and Aaron will be alright." Chris said. "I should have told you I saw them last night."

"You did?" Dan asked.

"Yes." Chris admitted. "I spent the evening with them and their pokemon. There was a good variety of pokemon. Mark even convinced me to sing the song I sang when I won the school talent show."

"I haven't heard you sing in years." Richard said to his daughter as he and Julie joined everyone on the deck.

"Well, hopefully ALL of the kids are safe." Delia said looking back at the city.

0000

Aaron, Andy, Ash, Brock, and Tory were looking for food and water. Marie and Misty went to go see where the other people who were trapped in Larousse were taken. Everyone else was stuck in the hideout with Yuko trying to figure out what Deoxys wanted.

"Where are they?" Mary asked.

"They hadn't been gone ten minutes." Mark said.

"I can't believe it!" Ashley said. "We're stuck here while they're off finding food! We can help."

"Ashley. You know they'd never allow us to help." Bailey said. "It's too risky."

"But still," Ashley complained. "Just last month, Dad said…"

"Last month he was 35." Gabe told her.

"Plu Plu" (I have an idea!)

"Mine mine" (Me too. C'mon Pichus!)

The four electric pokemon went running out the vent that they had entered.

0000

In the city,

"Still no good." Tory said after trying to get some hot dogs from a robot.

"It must be tied into the town's system." Brock observed.

"I can see the food." Aaron said looking into the robot longingly.

"We just need to find a way to break in." Ash added.

"Pika Pika!" (I have an idea!)

"What?" Ash asked his Pikachu.

"Piiiiikkkkkaaaaacccchhhuuuuu!!!"

Pikachu had used Thundershock and managed to boot up the robot. Within seconds, it was launching hotdogs.

"Thanks" Andy said to the electric pokemon.

"Pika?" (What's that?)

Pikachu and Static started sparking at the cheeks when the Deoxys clones came swooping down on our heroes. One grabbed the hotdog machine, and others grabbed Ash, Aaron, and Tory. The ones that had the humans ended up shocked as Pikachu, Static, Plusle, Minun, and the Pichu Bros used Thundershock. By the time our heroes were safe in a building, Ash had managed to save Plusle, but Aaron, Minun, and one of the Pichus had been carried off as well as the machine.

"I'm so sorry Pichu." Tory apologized to the remaining Pichu. "I almost had your him in my arms."

"Don't worry Tory." Ash said. "We'll save Pichu. AND Aaron, Minun, and the others."

"Chu" (I hope so.) Static said

0000

At the shelter a few minutes later,

"ASH KETCHEM!" Marie yelled when she saw Ash. "TELL ME I DID **_NOT_** SEE **_MY_** BOYFRIEND BEING **CARRIED OFF** BY ONE OF THOSE **THINGS**!"

"Okay. I won't tell you. Andy. You tell her" Ash said

"Why me?" Andy asked panicking.

"Don't bother." Misty said. "We saw the Deoxys clones putting people and pokemon in the dome. One of them was carrying Aaron."

"Is everybody alright?" Yuko asked the gang walked in.

"I hope so." Brock said. "Aaron, Minun, and a Pichu were taken."

The younger kids gasped and the future kids looked at Bailey who had paled.

"Dad." Bailey whispered to himself.

TBC


	20. Comin’ to the Rescue

Previously,

_Pikachu and Static started sparking at the cheeks when the Deoxys clones came swooping down on our heroes. One grabbed the hotdog machine, and others grabbed Ash, Aaron, and Tory. The ones that had the humans ended up shocked as Pikachu, Static, Plusle, Minun, and the Pichu Bros used Thundershock. By the time our heroes were safe in a building, Ash had managed to save Plusle, but Aaron, Minun, and one of the Pichus had been carried off as well as the machine. _

"_I'm so sorry Pichu." Tory apologized to the remaining Pichu. "I almost had him in my arms."_

"_Don't worry Tory." Ash said. "We'll save Pichu. AND Aaron, Minun, and the others."_

**Chapter 20: Comin' to the Rescue**

In the dome with the prisoners,

"Well, at least now we know it doesn't always happen to Ash." Aaron told Pichu and Minun.

"Min."(I miss Plusle)

"Chu?" (Will I see my brother again?)

"Of course you will!" Aaron said. He thought a minute. "I have an idea."

Aaron reached into his bag and pulled out Mew's ball.

"Please work." He prayed as he released Mew while everyone else in the dome was doing their own thing.

"Mew?" (What's wrong?)

"Mew. There's a Pokemon named Deoxys rampaging the city. I need you to find Ash and tell him I'm ok. Also, tell him to tell you any plans they make concerning rescues. Then you tell me the plans. I have Minun and Pichu with me and they're also safe."

"Mew mew" (Sure thing)

With that, Mew teleported out.

"Min?" (You know Mew?)

"Ash?" a female voice asked from behind him.

Aaron turned to see Kira, Richie, a pink headed girl, a blue haired girl, and a black haired boy he didn't know. Luckily, they had not seen Mew.

"Kira? Richie?" Aaron asked "Other people I don't know?"

"Ash?" The pink haired girl who spoke earlier said. "Don't you remember us? I'm Clara and these are Adam and Lauren. We went to school together with you and Gary. Ring a bell?"

"No." Aaron said. "Because I'm not Ash."

"Aaron!?" Kira asked.

"Why are you dressed as Ash?" Richie asked.

"It's a change of wardrobe." Aaron explained.

"I'm confused." Adam said.

"Well." Aaron said. "We could be stuck here a while, so get comfortable because it's a LONG story. Ash is my twin brother. When we were a year old…"

0000

In the shelter,

"So the thing let go of the hotdog machine?" Andy asked Marie as she was telling everyone what she and Misty witnessed.

"Yeah." Misty said.

Suddenly, there was clattering on the roof. A vent started to crack and a clone Deoxys stuck its tentacles through.

"Let's get out of here." Karen said.

"Yes." Yuko agreed. "There's an underground lab."

0000

When the Deoxys left, everyone checked out the lab.

"This is where we studied Deoxys and its regeneration." Yuko explained.

"Wait a minute." Karen said. "Weren't there two Deoxys"

"How could you have known?" Yuko asked bewildered.

"Lucky guess." Ashley said glaring at Karen.

"Very lucky. Because one was dormant when Rayquaza defeated the other. That crystal inside that meteorite is a part of Deoxys."

"I was only repeating what Professor Lund told us when he told us the story about the time he helped revive a Deoxys." Karen said to her glaring friends.

"Don't tell me you haven't figured it out YET!" Gabe said to Karen.

Suddenly, the green crystal inside the meteorite started glowing, and Tory's friend came out.

"That must mean…" Ashley said.

"…Tory's friend is…" Misty continued.

"…Deoxys." Ash finished.

Brock and Marie snickered at the family completing the sentence.

"I thought Ash and Aaron were bad with that." Andy groaned.

"I just thought of something!" Marie stated out loud. "Yuko, when Deoxys first came, were the two together?"

"Yes." Yuko told her.

"Of course! It makes sense. The Deoxys that is going about town is only looking for the other one."

"That makes sense." Yuko agreed. "And it's been carrying off all of the people and Pokemon because they were interfering. Deoxys sees certain types of electrical fields. These fields are given off, not just by electrical devices, but by people and Pokemon."

"So it's gathering everyone into one place so they won't interfere!" Gabe realized.

Suddenly, a flash of pink light appeared and Mew showed up.

"Mew!" (Hi)

"Cool! A Mew!" Mark exclaimed.

"Mew. The New Specie Pokemon. A Mew is said to possess the genes of all Pokemon. It is capable of making itself invisible at will, so it entirely avoids notice even if it approaches people." Mary's Pokedex stated.

"Great timing Mew." Ash said sarcastically.

"How did Mew get in here?" Misty asked.

"It teleported." Ash told her.

"Through the force field?" Mary asked.

"It must have been in Larousse." Ash said. "Mew? Have you seen Aaron?"

"Mew. Mew mew mew-mew." (Yes. He's fine. Do you have any rescue plans?)

"We're working on it." Ash told the psychic pokemon.

"Yuko!" Tory said. "You've got to help this Deoxys regenerate! It's so sad. It's been alone for a long time."

"Yeah." Mark agreed. "Once Deoxys finds its friend, it'll leave!"

"There's only one problem." Yuko said. "The power we're running on isn't enough to operate the device."

"If we can get the wind generators moving, that could help." Marie said.

"And with Static, Pikachu, Electrica, Lightning, Plusle, Minun, and the two Pichu, that could help with extra electricity needed." Ash said looking at Ashley.

"Oh. NOW you're including me?" Ashley asked sarcastically.

"Too bad Chris is on the other side of the force field." Mark said. "Electra is really strong."

"Electra?" Misty asked.

"Her Pikachu." Mary explained.

0000

A few hours later, everyone but Yuko left the lab. Tory, Ash, Karen, Ashley, Pikachu, Static, Electrica, Lightning, Plusle, and Pichu went to the dome while everyone else went to the wind generators. Mew had gone on ahead to inform Aaron of the plan. Yuko stayed and prepared the lab for the regenerating.

0000

As the gang went on with their plan, Julie and Delia were watching as Rayquaza was trying to break in. Suddenly, to Delia and Julie's horror, Rayquaza used Hyper Beam and broke into the force field in the weak spot it had been banging on all night.

"DAN! RAYQUAZA BROKE THROUGH!" Delia yelled

"THE KIDS ARE IN EVEN MORE DANGER!" Julie added.

"That is really not good." Dan said as he and Professor Lund the women on deck.

"What have I done?" Lund asked himself.

0000

At the dome,

"Great!" Aaron said as he finished rewiring the controls in the dome. "All we need is the electricity."

"If we had that, we wouldn't need to fix the controls." Lauren said.

"So, what's the plan?" Richie asked.

"Simple." Aaron said. "When Ash comes with the electric Pokemon, they, as well as Pichu, Sparky, and Minun will use Thunderbolt. Hopefully, the electricity will recharge the controls and we will be out of here. Then, you all will head to the windmills."

"What about you?" Adam asked.

"I'm going with Ash. He and Tory are going to do something. SOMEONE didn't go into explanation." Aaron said glaring at Mew.

"I still can't believe you know Mew." Kira said.

"Get over it." Aaron told her.

"AARON!" a voice called from outside.

"ASH! DO YOU HAVE PIKACHU, STATIC, ELECTRICA, LIGHTNING, PLUSLE AND PICHU?" Aaron called down.

"YEAH!" Ash answered.

"GREAT! AND I HAVE PICHU, MINUN, AND SPARKY! WE'RE ALL SET!"

"GREAT!" there was a pause "DID YOU SAY SPARKY?"

"HI ASH!" Richie called

"Uncle Richie?" Ashley asked half to herself.

"Ashley!" Ash told his future daughter "It's time."

"Right." Ashley said with a nod. "Electrica!"

"Lightning!" Karen added

"Pikachu! Plusle! Static!" Ash yelled

"Pichu!" Tory instructed.

"Pichu!" Adam instructed.

"Minun!" Aaron said.

"Sparky!" Richie added.

"THUNDERBOLT! NOW!"

Within a few seconds between the Pikachus and the other electric pokemon, the dome entrance was recharged and it was open. The Pichus and the Plusle and Minun had a joyful reunion .

"Great job Tory." Ash congratulated his friend.

"ASH!" Aaron called as he ran to his brother. "I knew you wouldn't let us down."

"Of course not." Ash said. "and face Marie's wrath? It was bad enough when she saw you being carried off."

"PIKA!" (AARON!)

"Static!" Aaron said as Static jumped in his arms.

"Ash?" Adam asked.

"Adam? Clara? Lauren? What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Summer break." Adam explained. "We're doing some studying abroad."

"Now, what's the next step?" Kira asked.

"Tory, Aaron, Ashley, Karen, and I are going back to the lab." Ash said.

"The rest of you, head to the windmills." Aaron added.

"I'm coming with you." Richie said. "If you need more electricity, Sparky can handle it."

"Pika" (Right!)

0000

At the windmills, Brock was putting the finishing touches on the plan. Hopefully, instead of wind turning the windmills, they can use man and Pokemon power. The prisoners, human and Pokemon, came running to join Andy, Brock, Marie, Misty, Gabe, Bailey, Mary, and Mark.

"Hi guys!" Kira called when she saw them.

"Kira? What are you doing here?" Marie asked.

"Well, Richie and I were on vacation, but it turns out to be another adventure." She answered.

"Where are Ash, Aaron, Tory, and Richie?" Misty asked.

"They went back to the lab." Adam answered.

"Perfect." Brock said. "Are you ready to get started?"

0000

Back at the lab, everything was set on. They were just waiting for the power. It suddenly came on.

"I knew those guys could pull it off." Ash said.

"Right." Tory agreed.

0000

At the windmills, humans were tugging on the ropes that Brock wound around the generators. Flying Pokemon were using gust while water types were using water gun and hydro pump.

0000

"I'm set." Yuko said. "Are you kids ready to use the laser?"

"Of course!" Ashley said excitedly.

"I think you should turn it on Tory." Ash said.

"It is your friend." Aaron added.

Tory placed his hand on the lever and turned it on. It worked for a few minutes, but then it started to slow. Yuko went to go check to see what was wrong.

"We're still 20 percent short on energy."

"We're so close." Richie said.

"Okay guys!" Ash said turning to the Pokemon. "You know what to do!"

"Pika!" "Mine" "Plu" "Pichu" (Right!)

The pokemon used thundershock giving the machine the energy it needed.

0000

Rayquaza had just used seismic toss on Deoxys causing the force field to disintegrate.

"It's down!" Elm called. "The Force Field is Gone!"

The ferry with the scientists and their families and Officer Jenny went into harbor.

Suddenly, Rayquaza used hyperbeam on Deoxys which retaliated with a psychic ball of some kind.

"This was probably a bad idea." Matthew Ketchem said.

The ferry docked and everyone got off.

0000

When the researchers got to the windmills, they saw all of the people who didn't evacuate standing around. With the force field gone, the wind was back.

"MARY! MARK!" Julie called.

"MOM!" They called back as they hugged her.

"Are you okay?" Richard asked the kids.

"Yeah." Mary said. "Worked on my arm muscles."

"Where are Ash and Aaron?" Delia asked frantically.

"They went back to the lab." Bailey answered.

"Who are you?" Dan asked.

"I'm Bailey. And this is Gabe. Karen and Ashley are at the lab with Ash, Aaron, Yuko, and Tory."

Suddenly, a Deoxys flew by causing the researchers to duck.

"How many Deoxys are there?" Professor Elm asked

All of a sudden, a water balloon hit Gabe on the head.

"Sorry Gabe." A sarcastic voice from above apologized.

Everyone looked up and saw Ashley laughing as she was flying with a green glow outlining her body. She then flew away with Deoxys.

"THAT was Ashley." Gabe said drenched.

"Oh. Your girlfriend." Gary said.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Gabe yelled.

"Gabe." Bailey said before whispering something into his ear. "_He's your father_."

"He's not yet." Gabe replied to Bailey.

0000

The people, besides Yuko, who revived Deoxys, landed on the top of a building and watched Rayquaza and Deoxys battle it out. As Deoxys was about to finish off Rayquaza, the other Deoxys blocked it.

When the green Deoxys (the one our heroes revived) came out of the rubble, it looked like it and the other one were about to battle it out. But instead, they both sent out auroras in greetings.

Suddenly, Rayquaza attacked them.

"STOP IT RAYQUAZA!" Ash yelled.

"Please don't tell me that was Ash yelling." Delia said with her eyes closed.

"I'm going to have to go with Mrs. Ketchem on this one." Misty said following the older woman's example.

"Are you really surprised after all the traveling you've done with him?" Gabe asked.

"No." Misty said. "You wouldn't believe half the stupid stuff he's done."

"And those would be…?" Delia asked.

The two Deoxys paralyzed Rayquaza and moved Ash, Aaron, Ashley, Karen, Richie, and Tory out of the way onto the ground using psychic.

"Go to the others." Ash told Ashley, Karen, and Richie.

"Right." Richie said as he and Karen started to run to the windmills.

"But…" Ashley started to argue.

"Ashley. Now." Ash instructed.

"Okay. C'mon Electrica." Ashley sighed.

"Chu?" (Will you be okay Dad?) Electrica asked Pikachu.

"Pika!" (Of course)

Ash, Aaron, and Tory went in the direction of the fighting pokemon while Richie, Karen, Ashley, Plusle, Minun, and the Pichus went to the windmills.

0000

"Where are Ash, Aaron, and Tory?" Professor Birch asked Richie and the two future kids.

"They went in another direction." Richie told him.

0000

During the fight, the electromagnetism in Deoxys' attacks managed to cause a side effect on the now active security robots. The robots were now multiplying into rivers of robots.

"Security has somehow gone into Overdrive." Yuko said to herself. "It won't shut down."

Suddenly, the rest of the gang: researchers, assistants, main characters, future kids, and Officer Jenny, entered the lab.

"Yuko!" Professor Lund called.

"Professor Lund! Thank goodness!" she said.

TBC


	21. The Truth Comes Out

Previously,

_During the fight, the electromagnetism in Deoxys' attacks managed to cause a side effect on the now active security robots. The robots were now multiplying into rivers of robots._

"_Security has somehow gone into Overdrive." Yuko said to herself. "It won't shut down."_

_Suddenly, the rest of the gang: researchers, assistants, main characters, future kids, and Officer Jenny, entered the lab._

**Chapter 21: The Truth Comes Out**

Ash, Aaron, Tory, and the electric pokemon were having trouble dodging the security robots. Even Rayquaza and the Deoxys were getting swamped by them. The Pichus had shown up to help them, but it was only a matter of time before it would get to be too much.

"Ash. Aaron. I'm scared." Tory said.

"Me too." Aaron admitted.

"Same with me." Ash reluctantly admitted. "Almost like the time I found out I was the Chosen One on Shamuti."

"You mean the time you were nearly killed because you fell off Lugia?" Aaron asked.

"Lugia fell with me." Ash corrected.

"Not helping guys." Tory said.

Suddenly, Professor Lund came onto the nearest screen.

"Tory! Can you hear me?"

"Daddy?" Tory said.

"Tory. You must listen very carefully. As you can see, all the Block Robots are malfunctioning. The Chief Robot should be near you. We don't have power over that robot from the booth now. Understand? Now, here's what I need you to do. I need for you to be brave. Do you have your passport? You must present the passport to the Chief Robot. Everything should unlock, but only for a brief moment. That should allow us time to regain control and shut it off. The blocks are surrounding the Battle Tower making any approach by us impossible. Son, the fate of the town is in your…."

The block robots had hit the screen causing it to break.

"THERE!" Aaron called out pointing to the Chief Robot.

"So, we need to get to that tower." Ash said out loud.

"How?" Tory asked.

"That!" Aaron said pointing to the floating hot dog machine.

The three boys jumped on and road it to the tower. Ash and Aaron jumped off, but Tory missed the jump.

"WE'LL TAKE CARE OF THIS!" Aaron told Tory as the younger boy floated away with the Pichu Bros

The twins climbed the tower to the point they were parallel to the robot. Now the only problem was getting from the tower to the robot. Pikachu and Static started to hop on the floating blocks and ended up at the robot.

"Great idea." Ash said.

Both boys hopped on different robots. Aaron ended on one side, while Ash landed on the other.

Aaron reached and stared to present his passport, but there was a sudden jerk and the passport dropped.

"Great." Aaron said sarcastically. "You're turn."

"Right." Ash said as he did the same. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on their side today because there was another jerk and HIS passport fell.

"What are the chances?" Aaron asked.

"Slim." Ash answered. "But there."

"ASH! AARON! USE MY PASSPORT!" Tory called.

"THROW IT!" Aaron called.

Tory threw his up to the twins. Both reached, but it fell a couple of inches too short.

Aaron jumped off the robot.

"What are you doing?!" Ash yelled.

Instead of answering, Aaron grabbed the passport and threw it harder. Ash caught it this time.

"I'M FINE! THE BLOCKS ARE SOFTER THAN THEY LOOK!" Aaron yelled as he landed. "USE IT NOW!"

Suddenly, the blocks went really out of control and started making towers.

"This better work." Ash said as he presented the passport.

0000

"Passport Verified. Disengaging all locks" the computer said.

"I'm almost there." Jenny said. "Disengage."

She hit the big red button and everything came to a screeching halt.

0000

"It worked guys." Tory said.

Suddenly, the blocks the Pichu Bros were on came off causing them to fall. Tory reached and grabbed them taking him down too.

"TORY!" Ash called.

Suddenly, one of the Deoxys came out from the sea of blocks and grabbed Tory. The other one used its psychic powers to get Ash down from the robot as Aaron managed to surface.

"That was interesting." Aaron said as the green Deoxys used its powers to lift Aaron.

"Don't ever do that again." Ash said as Aaron caught up with him.

"Only if you promise no more near death experiences." Aaron said knowing that was impossible.

Rayquaza also emerged from the block sea and flew in between the two Deoxys before heading to the Ozone (for now).

0000

The twins and the Deoxys touched down. Once the green Deoxys landed, it let Tory go.

"TORY!" Professor Lund yelled as he ran up to his son ahead of the rest of the group..

"Daddy!"

"I'm so happy you're safe." Lund said as he hugged Tory.

"But I'm only okay, because of my friends." Tory admitted.

Just then, the Pichu Brothers hopped on Tory's shoulders and started nuzzling him. Instead of screaming, Tory laughed.

Ash, Aaron, and the Pikachus watched with smiles. Tory was over his fear. Mission Accomplished.

"ASH AND AARON KETCHEM!" Delia yelled as she approached the twins carrying the second pair of twins.

"Ash!" Elizabeth cheered.

"Aawon!" Emily said.

"Mom?" they asked.

"Start talking." She said. "You two are in BIG trouble."

Ash groaned at the déjà vu of the aftermath of the Shamuti incident.

"That was even better than the stories!" Ashley yelled as she jumped in Ash's arms. "Then again, they WERE modified."

"More or less?" Aaron asked her glad for the temporary distraction.

"Less." Bailey said. "Ashley's Dad really leaves out a LOT of detail. My Dad, on the other hand, OVER exaggerates."

"What can you expect from twins?" Karen said. "There Dad's are twin brothers." She explained to the others.

"Karen!" Gabe said before whispering something into her ears.

"You could have mentioned that sooner." Karen said after Gabe finished.

"Wasn't it obvious?" Gabe asked.

"What can you expect from the daughter of…"

"SHUT UP KAREN!" the future kids said.

"Oh? As it's MY fault Celebi saved us?" Karen asked.

"Celebi?" Gary finished.

"Busted." Gabe said.

"Yeah." Bailey admitted.

"We were lost in the forest and we came upon a cliff. It was foggy, so we didn't see it. After we fell off, we saw a green thing and a flash of light. The next thing we knew, we were in the city." Ashley explained.

"I've had a run in with Celebi myself." Professor Oak said. "Over 50 years ago."

"You mean that story was true?" Gary asked.

"What story?" Mark asked.

"The one about how Gramps came up with the _idea_ for the Pokedex and the Pokeballs we all have. According to the story, he traveled to the future, met up with this trainer who compared his sketch book to a Pokedex. The trainer also had a pokeball that activated at the single push of a button and all the trainer had to do was throw it. What _was_ the trainer's name? You told Dad once, but you never told me." Gary explained before turning to his Grandfather.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Professor Oak said with a grin.

Ash, Misty, and Brock started to whistle.

"So, you're time travelers?" Mark asked.

"Yep." Ashley said.

"Le bi! (Ashley!)

Everyone turned to see the green pokemon floating.

"CELEBI!" the time travelers yelled in relief.

"Be. Lebi!" (Hi Deoxys)

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Karen asked.

"Be lebibi." (Looking for you guys.)

"Well." Bailey said to everyone. "It's been fun."

"Hopefully our parents won't remember." Gabe said. "If they do, we are SO grounded."

"We'll see everyone around." Karen said.

"Yeah. Ashley? Are we still on to visit our aunts?" Bailey asked his cousin.

At the mention of "aunts", Ash and Aaron looked at their sisters.

"Yeah. Just because we had a small detour doesn't mean we can skip out on our plans. Besides, they know we're coming."

"I'm confused." Clara said. "Are you kids from the past or future?"

"Future." Karen said.

"Wait a minute." Dan said. "If your parents would "remember", then that means…"

"…Your parents are in this group." Julie finished her brother's sentence.

For some strange reason (or my design), Ash, Misty, Aaron, Marie, Gary, Mary, Brock, and Christine were standing right next to each other and looking around at each other.

"Nice going Gabe." Ashley said. "For all we know, you could have altered the time stream."

"Hey. As long as none of us says our last names and those that _do _know keep quiet, then we're fine."

"But what if they figure it out?" Ashley argued.

"Not again." Bailey and Karen sighed sensing another argument.

"Are you sure his mother isn't related to her family?" Karen asked Bailey.

"Positive. The only relation is adoption."

"Adoption?" Misty asked looking at Mary.

"What?" Mary asked as she noticed Misty.

"Let's just go now." Ashley said. "We can argue later."

"Fine." Gabe said.

"It's a date." Bailey teased.

Out of nowhere, Ashley pulled out a mallet and hit Bailey on the head.

"Take us home Celebi." Gabe said.

"In fact," Ashley said. "Can you drop us off at Aunt Lizzy's?"

"Bi" (Sure)

"Lizzy?" Dan asked as he eyed his daughter.

"So, who are your parents?" Kira asked.

"That's for us to know and you to find out in…at most 10 years." Bailey said.

"BI. Lebi lebi." (Right. Stand back those who aren't going.)

Everyone stood back giving Gabe, Ashley, Bailey, Karen, Lightning, and Electrica room to time travel

"BIIII" (TIME TRAVEL)

With that a flash of light the kids and they disappeared.

0000

A few hours later, everyone was in the conference hall discussing the regeneration powers of Deoxys. The two Pokemon from space had left.

During the conference, Adam, Lauren, and Clara had to go back to their school in Johto. That left our heroes, Christine, Gary, Richie, Tory, and Kira talking in the lobby.

"Good to see you're over your fear." Brock said to Tory who still had the Pichus on his shoulder.

"I didn't want to see them hurt, so I just forgot my fear." Tory said.

"What are you going to do now?" Mark asked.

"Probably stay here and train them." Tory said.

"How about you two?" Aaron asked Richie and Kira.

"We're on our way to Fortree." Richie said.

"We're working backwards." Kira explained "We already have the Rain and the Mind Badges."

"We have all but those." Ash stated.

"Why so slow?" Misty asked.

"Magma and Aqua." Richie and Kira both said.

"They were looking for something valuable." Kira said. "We managed to thwart their plans a few times, but we figured that we were wasting our own time."

"Besides," Richie added. "You guys have better luck with stopping bad guys."

"Shhh." Ash and Aaron warned. "Dad doesn't know that yet."

"Dad doesn't know what yet?" a familiar voice said behind them.

The twins winced. They knew that voice.

"Hi Dad. Is the conference over already?" Aaron asked innocently.

"Yes. Now what don't I know?" Dan asked.

"Just that we stopped some bad people from doing bad things. There are a LOT of bad people out there." Ash said.

"We'll talk about this later." Dan said. "We all have planes and ferries to catch."

"That's right." Marie said. "Where's our next stop?"

Mark looked at the Pokenav. "There is a contest in Lilycove."

"The Lilycove contest." Christine reminisced. "With the Ribbon. That was a good one."

0000

After the goodbyes, (Delia said that she'd deal with the twins when they returned home) everyone went in different directions.

0000

On the tram with Richie and Kira,

"Oops!" Kira said covering her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Richie asked.

"I forgot to warn Aaron about Aqua." She said.

"I think they can handle them." Richie said.

"You don't understand." She said. "The member that I knew personally is a master at verbal abuse."

"The one that flirted with you, but you slapped him HARD?" Richie asked.

"The same one." Kira said.

(A/N: I'm only going to do a few tram scenes)

0000

On the tram with Dara, Gary, and Christine,

"That was interesting." Dara said. "Time travelers, and Pokemon from the Ozone and Space. First exciting conference I've ever been to."

"There was something about those time travelers though." Gary said. "Especially that one. Gabe."

"It was Karen that got my attention." Christine said. "Did you notice how much she looked like me? And how well her Pikachu was raised?"

"Chu Pikachu" (I miss Pikachu)

During the play night, Electra and Pikachu had gotten to be **close** friends.

"You'll see him again." Christine said to her Pikachu. "After all, he's my cousin's pokemon."

"What are you getting at Chris?" Gary asked.

"Well, since they were from the future, there is a good chance that Karen is possibly my child."

"And the others?" Dara asked.

"Let's see." Chris thought. "Bailey is possibly Marie's son because he has her hair. And since she's dating Aaron, then he's probably the father. And since Ashley's his cousin, then that would make her Ash and Misty's kid…"

"YES! I'M GOING TO GET $100!" Gary cheered.

Dara, Crystal, and Chris looked at him.

"They said that we'll see them again in about 10 years. I made a bet that they'll have a kid in about 10 years." Gary explained.

"And that leaves Gabe." Chris explained. "He did look and act a little bit like you…"

"Are you suggesting he's MY son?"

"Possibly." Chris said. "And they mentioned that the only relation between him and Ashley, besides feeling for each other, are that his mother was adopted into Ashley's family. Mary, was adopted and since Ash is my cousin, then she's probably the mother. Didn't you once say to me that you thought Mary was hot?"

Gary was now blushing.

0000

On the tram with our heroes,

"Hey Ash?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah?"

"What ever happened to that Plusle and Minun?"

"I have no idea." Ash admitted. "What do you guys think?"

"No clue?" Brock said.

"Same here." Andy said.

"I hope they're okay." Marie said.

"Ditto." Misty said.

Suddenly, Ash and Aaron felt movement in their backpacks. They took them off and opened them up. Plusle popped out of Ash's backpack and Minun did the same with Aaron's.

"Pika Pikachu" (That answers that question.)

"What are you doing in there?" Ash asked.

"Plu plu" (We wanted to come with you)

"Mine mine?" (Is that okay?)

Ash and Aaron looked at each other, then at their Pikachus.

"Okay." They caved as they pulled out normal Pokeballs.

"Plu!" "Mine!" (Yay!)

0000

Meanwhile,

Emily was visiting her sister, Elizabeth. Their older brothers' kids and their friends were going to stop by to visit since they were in the area.

"Where are those kids?" Emily asked.

"If Ashley, Bailey, or Karen is leading, then they're probably lost." Elizabeth said.

"True Ketchems." Emily laughed. "Even if Karen doesn't have that last name."

"She still has Ketchem blood through Aunt Julie."

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light outside the house. The twin blackhaired women in their twenties ran out to see the kids outside and Celebi disappearing.

"Hi Aunt Elizabeth." Ashley said.

"Hi Aunt Emily" Bailey added.

"Where were you with Celebi?" Elizabeth asked.

"Let's just say that you were cute when you were babies." Karen said.

TBC


	22. Teams Magma and Aqua

A/N: Sorry about the loooonnnggggg wait. I've been on a writer's block for this story. I've managed this chapter and half of the next one. Chapter 23 will have more "episodes" in it. Anyways, here's your update. I will make the attempt to have the rest of the story up sooner.

**Chapter 22: Teams Magma and Aqua**

In Lilycove, which took about a month to get to (the twins were leading), Mary competed in the contest while Ash taught Areal Ace to Swellow. It took a few tries, but they managed. Pikachu and Static had also mastered Iron Tail completely.

After Mary won her ribbon, she only had two more to go before she could qualify for the Grand Festival.

0000

A couple of months after the Lilycove Contest, we find our heroes island hopping to Mossdeep City. However, Butch and Cassidy were on the ferry and attempted to steal the Pokemon on board. Luckily, the two Pikachus managed to send them blasting off again. However, the explosion also sent our heroes flying off the boat into the water.

"Great." Andy said sarcastically. "I'm starting to REALLY hate Team Rocket."

"What took you?" Ash and Aaron asked.

"If only a boat would appear." Mary said.

Suddenly, a red submarine appeared from underneath them.

"That was convenient." Marie said.

Just then, a man with a red outfit came out. Luckily for our heroes, they were hidden from view. For now.

"Great." Mark said sarcastically. "We've landed on Team Magma's submarine."

The sub was heading for a larger ship. When it entered, more Magma members showed up. With all of the bad guys around, our heroes couldn't help but to be caught. They were taken to the Leader.

0000

Meanwhile, two people dressed in Magma uniforms went to a store room on the ship.

"According to the satellite, Kyogre should be just a few feet away." The boy said.

"Excellent." The female said. "You're getting the hang of field work Greg."

"Thanks Shelly."

0000

"Why should we help you?" Ash yelled at the leader.

"Watch your mouth!" another Magma member told him.

"It's alright Harland." The leader, Maxie, said to his loyal follower. "Young man, Team Magma's soul purpose is to unravel the mysteries of our planet, and in doing so, building a better world for everyone."

"Yeah right." Aaron murmured before saying, "And let me guess, you're going to try to get a legendary pokemon to help you."

"Not bad." Maxie said. "However, there is something wrong with the way you said it. We already have the legendaries."

Everyone gasped at this.

A blue orb appeared from Maxie's desk.

"You see," Maxie explained. "We have Kyogre in custody and Team Aqua has Groudon. However, the blue orb here is used to control Groudon, while the red orb is used to control Kyogre. The red orb is currently in the custody of Team Aqua."

"So basically, you have the Pokemon that the other team wants, but can't control it?" Andy asked to clarify things.

"That is correct young man." Maxie said.

Suddenly, the alarm sounded.

"Maxie! Kyogre has escaped!" a Magma member said as he came running in.

Just then, the ship rocked as Kyogre pounded on the ship knocking the blue orb off the sound.

"PIKACHU! CATCH THE ORB!" Ash shouted.

"Pika!" (Okay)

"Oh no you don't!" Harland said. "Mightyena! Shadow Ball!"

"STATIC! USE THUNDERBOLT!" Aaron commanded.

"PIIIIKKKKAAAACCCCHHHHHUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!"

As Static knocked the Mightyena unconscious, Pikachu caught the orb.

"Alright!" the twins cheered.

All of a sudden, the orb disappeared into Pikachu. Red markings appeared on the electric pokemon's body and it's eyes started glowing red.

"That can't be good." Mary said.

"Get that Pikachu!" Maxie ordered.

Pikachu turned to Team Magma and performed the strongest Thunderbolt ever.

"This isn't good." The twins said.

"Pikachu?" Misty asked.

Pikachu swayed as the markings disappeared and fainted from exhaustion. Ash picked up his Pokemon and the group ran for it.

0000

Our heroes made it to the side of the ship just as a "Magma member" was trying to decide what his next move to stop Teams Magma and Aqua was going to be.

"Well Dragonite," he said to his pokeball. "It's getting about time to take some serious action."

"We have to jump!" the man heard Brock said.

Recognizing the voice, the man looked over the side to the lower level and saw our heroes.

"Right!" everyone agreed with Brock

"What are Ash and Aaron doing here?" the man asked himself

Suddenly, the other Magma members attacked the group. The Shadow ball the Mightyenna used knocked most of our heroes off the ship. However, Ash and Pikachu were blowing in the opposite direction and became surrounded.

This completely changed whatever plans the man had in mind.

0000

In the water,

"Where's Ash?" Misty asked frantically as she treaded water.

The group looked up to see Ash holding Pikachu as he was led into the helicopter.

"Is this typical?" Mark asked the original gang.

"Oh yeah." They answered.

Suddenly, they felt something in the water underneath them. It surfaced with them on it and started carrying them to the island.

"A GYARADOS!" Everyone screamed in fear.

"Wait a minute." Brock said. "There's something familiar about this Gyarados."

"Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon. It is an extremely vicious and violent Pokemon. When humans begin to fight, it will appear and burn everything to the ground with intensely hot flames." Mary's pokedex stated.

"Odd." She said comparing the picture in the machine to the one she was riding.

"Aren't Gyarados supposed to be blue?" Mark asked.

"Brock." Misty whispered. "You don't think…"

"I do. We know this Red Gyarados." Brock said.

0000

In a store room on the helicopter,

Ash was trying to figure out what was wrong with his best Pokemon friend. Pikachu appeared to be in pain.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked Pikachu.

Just then, the door was unlocked and a member of Team Magma stepped in. It was the same guy who recognized the group of heroes.

"Stay away from Pikachu!" Ash shouted holding Pikachu closer to him.

"Take it easy Ash." The man said as he took off his hood.

"Uncle Lance?" Ash asked happily.

"Shh." Lance said to his sister's son. "I'm undercover."

"Something's wrong with Pikachu." Ash told him worriedly.

"Yes." Lance said. "Pikachu bonded with the blue orb."

"What's going to happen to him?" Ash asked sadly

Instead of answering, Lance placed a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Ash." Lance said. "I promise I will do everything I can to break Pikachu's bond with the blue orb."

"Thanks." Ash told him.

0000

On the island,

The rest of the gang had just landed on the island and were walking around. Gyarados stayed in the cove waiting for its master.

"Let me get this straight," Mark said. "That Gyarados belongs to LANCE KNIGHT?!"

"Basically." Marie said.

"You personally know the top of the Elite Four?" Mark asked.

"Oh yeah." Aaron said. "Uncle Lance appears once in a while during our adventures."

"That is sooo coo…_Uncle_ Lance?" Mark asked

"Oops." Aaron said realizing his slip up.

"NOW! TEAM AQUA SHALL RULE THE SEAS!" a voice yelled.

Our heroes forgot the discussion about Lance and hid in the bushes to observe a meeting that was going on between Teams Aqua and Magma.

Aaron paled as his eyes landed on one of the Aqua members.

"What is it?" Marie asked.

"It's Him." Aaron said pointing at the Aqua member.

Andy, Static, and Marie groaned as they recognized him.

"What's wrong?" Brock asked.

The member turned to see our heroes in the bushes.

"Archie Sir." The member said. "It appears we have some visitors."

"Well then," the leader of Team Aqua said "Let's not be rude, and let them join in the fun."

Team Aqua surrounded the rest of the gang and led them out in the open. When the member of Team Aqua recognized some of the members, he smirked.

"Piiii Pika." (Just say when, Aaron.)

"Static." Aaron warned his sparking Pikachu.

"Well, well." The member said. "Look who it is. Where's your twin?"

"None of your business Greg." Aaron said.

"How are your parents getting along?" Greg asked hoping to hit a soft spot

"Just fine." Aaron stated. "They couldn't be any happier."

0000

Lance had found a crack in the helicopter side that came from the store room his nephew was locked up in.

"How's Pikachu?" He asked Ash.

"Not good. Pikachu just escaped through this hole." Ash informed him through the crack.

Suddenly, there was a rumble. Lance looked towards the sea and saw that a tsunami was coming.

"Ash! Stand back!" Lance told the boy.

Ash obeyed.

"DRAGONITE! DRAGON CLAW!"

The dragon pokemon obeyed its master and the hole grew enough for Ash to escape the helicopter.

"We have to get going." Lance said. "Team Aqua had just captured Aaron."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised." Ash said.

"Hop on." Lance told him as he jumped on Dragonite.

Ash followed and they left the area just in time.

0000

Ash and Lance found total chaos at the temple where Team Aqua had stored Groudon. Between Archie bonding with the red orb and the rising sea level, nobody else noticed Pikachu going to the store house.

"PPPPIIIIIIKKKKKAAAAACCCCCHHHHUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"PIKACHU!!!!!!!!" Ash yelled as his own Pikachu used a strong Thunder Attack to blow up the store house it was on top of.

The explosion caught everyone's attention.

"Pikachu?" Misty asked as she repeated what she heard. "Oh no!"

Groudon emerged from the rubble with the electric pokemon with red eyes and markings rode on its head.

Misty, Marie, Aaron, Static, Andy, Brock, Mary, and Mark sighed with relief. Pikachu was alright… For now.

"KYOGRE! HYDRO PUMP!" The possessed Archie yelled.

The water legendary pokemon used the attack, but Pikachu countered it with a Thunderbolt.

The two/three (if you want to include Pikachu) fought long and hard. During the battle, Misty, Aaron, Marie, Brock, Andy, Mary, and Mark got back on the Red Gyarados and Ash and Lance flew over the battlefield. Finally, both Pokemon were getting tired. Kyogre finally took a direct hit. The red orb left Archie and the blue orb left Pikachu. Pikachu fainted and fell off of Groudon's head.

"PIKACHU!!!!" Ash yelled from above the fighting as he dove off of Dragonite after Pikachu.

"ASH!" Lance, Misty, Aaron, Marie, Brock, Andy, Mary, and Mark yelled.

"PIKACHU! PIKAPI" (PIKACHU! ASH!)

Ash hit the water and swam after his sinking pokemon. He finally caught him, but was quickly running out of air and surface was too far up.

Meanwhile, up on the surface,

"I HAVE TO HELP!" Aaron yelled as everyone else was trying to keep him from jumping in after his brother. "HE'S BEEN DOWN THERE TOO LONG!"

As if it understood, Kyogre swam after Ash and Pikachu and brought them to the surface. Gyarados swam alongside the legendary pokemon.

"Are you okay?" Aaron yelled.

Ash looked down at his Pikachu

"Pikapi?" (Ash?)

"Pikachu! You're okay!" Ash sighed with relief before turning to his brother. "We're just fine."

"Do me a favor!" Aaron called up

"What?"

"Don't EVER do that again!"

0000

With Team Aqua,

"Archie?" Shelly asked holding her leader's head.

"Shelly? Greg? What happened?"

"Everything is going to be alright sir." Greg said.

"Look!" Mary shouted pointing to the two orbs.

Everyone looked to see the two orbs dancing around and finally combining together. Groudon went back into the volcano, and once Ash was back on Lance's Dragonite, Kyogre went back into the depths of the ocean. For now.

0000

At the shore that evening,

"Can I have your autograph?" Mark asked Lance.

"Sure." Lance said with a laugh.

"Is it true?" Mary asked the Elite Trainer. "About you, Ash, and Aaron?"

Both Ash and Lance looked at Aaron.

"I kind of had a slip of the tongue." Aaron admitted.

"Yes." Lance told the younger kids. "Delia Ketchem is my sister. I haven't seen her in ages, but we're family."

"Cool." Mary said.

"Wait a minute," Mark said in realization. "Then, WE'RE also related to you! Because our mother's brother is you're brother-in-law."

"That's one way to look at it." Lance said. "I've got to get back. Maybe I'll find time to stop in Pallet to see Delia and Dan."

"You should have been in Larousse." Marie told him. "It was a REAL reunion."

TBC


	23. The Blizzard

A/N: Sorry for the long wait again. I wanted to finish the story before I began posting again, so I've been working on the chapters. There are just a few more chapters after this one. I'll try to have them posted up without delay

**Chapter 23: The Blizzard**

"FINALLY!" Misty yelled when the group reached Mossdeep City.

"They say that there's a Space Center here." Brock said reading the guide.

"Yeah, Yeah." Aaron said shrugging the attractions aside. "Get to the good stuff."

"Where's the gym?" Ash asked getting to the point.

"My aren't we patient?" Marie said sarcastically.

"It's next to the Space Center." Mark said.

Before anyone knew it, the twins were gone.

"Should we tell them the Space Center is that way?" Mary asked pointing in the opposite direction from the direction the twins were running.

"They'll figure it out." Misty said.

0000

Once Ash and Aaron figured out they had absolutely no idea where the Space Center was, they went back to where the rest of the gang was waiting.

"Um Brock?" Ash started.

"Where is the Space Center?" Aaron finished.

Brock chuckled and pointed in the direction Mary was pointing earlier.

0000

At the Space Center a few minutes later, because the gym was closed, Ash and Aaron were looking around. They came across a window where a boy and a girl were battling with a Solrock and a Lunatone. Both pokemon were using Tackle on each other.

"Solrock! Sandstorm!" the boy yelled.

It had no affect on the Lunatone.

"Have you forgotten that Sandstorm doesn't work for other Rock types?" the girl teased. "Lunatone! Psychic!"

The Solrock slammed into the wall.

"Solrock!" the boy yelled. "Are you okay?"

The Solrock floated back up.

"Solrock! Solarbeam!"

As the attack started to charge,

"Lunatone! Tackle!" the girl yelled.

The moonshaped pokemon did what it was told, but Solarbeam was already charged and fired.

"Counter with Ice Beam!" the girl yelled.

Apparently, the Lunatone was stronger than the Solrock because after the attacks clashed for a bit, the Ice Beam overcame the Solarbeam and froze Solrock.

"Solrock! Return!" the boy said.

(A/N: That wasn't easy, but I thought I'd give you guys a break for once and read a battle scene. Don't get use to it.)

"That was amazing!" Ash and Aaron said as they entered the room.

"Watch out!" the other trainers yelled.

It was too late. Before they knew it, Ash, Aaron, Pikachu, and Static were in the air.

The other trainers undid the straps that were holding them down to the ground.

"Sorry about that." The girl said. "The Baltoy use their psychic powers to imitate weightlessness."

"This is actually pretty cool." Aaron said as he swam down to the door and grabbed the top. "MISTY! MARIE! MARY! MARK! BROCK! ANDY! GET IN HERE!"

"Aaron!" Marie said as she came running into the room with the rest of the gang. "What's wrooongggg?"

Aaron laughed a the little prank he pulled on his girlfriend. The minute Marie stepped in the room, she floated to the ceiling.

"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!" She yelled at Aaron and whacked him upside the head. The force of the whack sent Aaron tumbling head over heels as he floated.

"I'm Ash." Ash introduced himself to the other two trainers. "and this is Pikachu."

"Pi" (Hi)

"I'm Brock."

"I'm Andy."

"I'm Mark."

"I'm Mary."

"Hi. I'm Misty."

"I'm Marie."

"And I'm Aaron." Aaron said rubbing his sore head. "And of course this is Static."

"Pi" (Hi)

"I'm Liza." The girl said. "And this is my younger brother Tate."

"By two minutes!" Tate argued.

"Twins?" the gang asked.

"Yes." Liza said.

"So are these two." Andy said pointing at Ash and Aaron.

"I figured." Liza said. "Identical?"

"You have no idea." Brock said looking at the two.

"What?" the boys asked innocently.

"Which one of you is older?" Liza asked.

The twins looked at each other confused.

"We have no idea." Aaron said.

"We've never bothered to ask." Ash added.

"Even though I have my suspicions." Aaron said looking at Ash.

"Perhaps we should get down." Brock said as he looked down.

"Please." Andy added. "I like my feet to touch the ground."

0000

After the Baltoy let our heroes down, Andy was kissing the ground while Ash and Aaron talked to Liz and Tate. During the conversation, the identical twins found that the fraternal twins were the gym leaders of the Mossdeep Gym. The battle was scheduled for the next day because there was to be a launch that afternoon.

0000

The next day,

"Let's go!" Ash and Aaron yelled as they ran out of the Pokemon Center leaving their friends behind.

"WAIT UP!" they yelled.

At the Space Center, Tate and Liza were waiting for the twins. It was a double battle between the two sets of twins with Tate and Liza using Solrock and Lunatone and Ash and Aaron using, Grovyle and Corphish

Ash and Aaron earned their badges.

0000

A few weeks later, we find our heroes in the mountains. Ash had a private meeting with Groudon, Rayquaza, and the purple Deoxys while Aaron had a meeting with Kyorge, and the green Deoxys earlier.

"I-i-i-it-t-t-t's s-s-s-o-o-o c-c-c-ol-l-l-l-d." Andy shivered.

"Memories." Aaron teased thinking of the ice cave.

We find the group up in the mountains where snow covers the ground.

"There's the Pokemon Center!" Misty pointed out.

Everyone braced for Brock's normal routine of screaming the nurses name and racing to the Center. He did run to the center, but when the rest of the gang caught up, he was on the vid-phone with Christine.

"I'll never get used to this." Ash admitted.

"Hello." Nurse Joy said. "May I help you?"

"Yes. Can you heal our pokemon please?" Andy said.

"Of course." She said.

"Runt." (Hello)

Everyone turned to see a pokemon standing in the window.

"Hello Snorunt." Joy said.

"Snorunt. The Snow Hat Pokemon. Snorunt live in regions with heavy snowfall. In seasons without snow, such as spring and summer, this Pokemon steals away to live quietly among stalactites and stalagmites deep in caverns." Ash's pokedex told them.

"Hi there." Ash said kneeling down to the pokemon's level.

Out of fun, the pokemon used blizzard on the trainer and grabbed the case for the badges.

"HEY!" Aaron scolded. "Those are Ash's."

"Not again." Joy sighed.

"Give me back my badges!" Ash said after he broke through the ice.

The Pokemon laughed.

"Snorunt is only playing" Joy explained.

Then it reached into the case and took out the Mind badge and held it out to Ash.

"Thanks." Ash said. One was better than nothing.

Then the Snorunt used another blizzard and froze the badge. When Ash defrosted the badge using his body heat, the Snorunt jumped out the window.

"Get Back Here!" Ash yelled as he followed out the window.

"Don't get between a Ketchem and his badges." Misty sighed. This wasn't the first time Ash lost something to a Pokemon."

"Oh Dear." Nurse Joy said. "I hope he hurries back. The forecast said that a blizzard is coming."

"A blizzard?!" the trainers repeated. Marie looked tentatively at Aaron knowing exactly what he was planning.

0000

Ash followed the troublemaking pokemon outside to the edge of a hill. The Snorunt stopped and did a little dance on a slippery rock.

"Okay. You're obviously having fun." Ash panted. "Well, I'm not. Give me back my badges!"

The Snorunt slipped and started to slide uncontrollably down the hill. Ash traced the path of the pokemon and found that Snorunt was headed for a huge bolder. As annoyed as he was at the pokemon, there was no way he would let that pokemon get hurt. He ran down the hill and grabbed the Snorunt.

Then he slipped and started to slide. He looked and found that they were getting closer to the boulder. He placed the Snorunt in his lap, and turned to where he would take the impacted on his back.

WHAM!

Ash felt a course of pain shoot up and down his spine as he hit the bolder full force. The amount of pain caused him to fall unconscious.

The Snorunt ran to the trainer's side. He was only having a little bit of fun. He never meant for anyone to get hurt. The Snorunt looked up at the sky and saw that it had gotten dark with clouds. A few snowflakes started to fall to the ground. In just a matter of minutes, there will be a blizzard. Snorunt had lived in these mountains long enough and had seen enough trainers come by to know that if this trainer did not get into shelter soon, then he'd never wake up. So, Snorunt started working on a snow house around Ash while it was still fairly decent weather.

0000

Meanwhile,

"We can't find him." Brock said with a sigh as he and the others dragged Aaron into the center.

"He could have gone anywhere." Mary told him.

"Knowing Ash," Misty added. "He won't stop pursuing Snorunt until he has his badges back."

"Let me go!" Aaron told his captives.

"No way. You'll just get lost." Marie said to her boyfriend.

"Snorunt means no harm." Joy explained. "He just likes to play with the trainers."

"Maybe he should get one." Andy joked.

0000

Back to Ash,

Ash woke up with his back still sore. The first thing he saw was…white. He looked around after he carefully sat up and found that he was in a snow house. Outside, the wind was blowing hard and the snow was coming down in sheets.

"Snow runt?" (Are you okay?)

Ash looked and saw the small pokemon standing there with an apple in its arms.

"Snorunt?" Ash said. "Did you build this?"

"Runt. Snow" (Yes. For you.)

Snorunt handed Ash the apple.

"Than…Wait a minute. Is this a trick."

Snorunt vigorously shook its head no.

"Snow." (No!)

"Thank you." Ash said taking the apple and biting into it.

Then, to the pokemon's surprise, Ash offered the other side of the apple. Snorunt took the offering as Ash looked out.

"I really hope Aaron doesn't try anything stupid like coming after me in this weather."

0000

At the Pokemon Center,

"LET ME OUT!" Aaron shouted from inside a closet as Nurse Joy twirled the keys in her hand with an evil smirk.

"Not until you promise us that you'll stay in the building." Marie said.

"I HAVE TO FIND MY BROTHER!" Aaron shouted.

"Then I hope you're not claustrophobic." Mary said.

"I want to find Ash as much as you do, but I at least have the sense to wait for the weather." Misty added

"Besides," Brock put in. "We've gotten lost in a blizzard before and got separated from Ash."

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Aaron said a little bit more panicky. "ASH TOLD ME ABOUT THAT TIME AND HE NEARLY FROZE TO DEATH!"

"Thanks a lot." Mark said sarcastically to Brock.

"If he breaks down the door, would we have to pay for it?" Andy asked Joy.

0000

A few hours later, the weather subsided and Ash and Snorunt left the snow house. During their time waiting, Snorunt had given Ash his badges back.

"We did it." Ash said to Snorunt. "We survived the storm."

"Runt!" (Let's battle!)

Snorunt had gotten into battle position.

"Do you want me to train you?" Ash asked.

"Snow runt runt" (If you can catch me)

"Very well." Ash said getting into position. "Go Plusle!"

"Pla" (Let's do it)

"Spark"

Plusle used Spark, but it missed as Snorunt used Double Team.

"Quick Attack!"

This time Plusle hit his mark and Ash threw a Pokeball. The ball swished three times before catching the ice pokemon

"All right!" Ash shouted to nobody as he held up the pokeball. "I caught a Snorunt!"

He put the pokeball on his belt (he had five earlier) and headed for the center

0000

When Ash opened the door to the center about 15 minutes later, nobody was to be found. He looked confused and listened carefully. He heard a faint pounding in the hallway. He headed for the pounding and saw Nurse Joy, Brock, Misty, Marie, Andy, Mary, Mark, and the two Pikachus gathered around a closet.

"LET ME OUT!" Aaron's voice came from the closet.

Ash tried SO hard not to laugh out loud.

"Brock, will you go check to see if the blizzard is over?" Misty asked.

Brock turned to see Ash who nodded.

"Look for yourself." Brock said.

Everyone else turned to see Ash.

"ASH!" Misty yelled as she ran to her boyfriend and jumped in his arms.

"Misty. That's not funny. Ash is lost in the blizzard and I'm going to go find him." Aaron said.

"What are you doing locked in a closest without Marie?" Ash joked.

"Ash?" Aaron asked. "Is the blizzard over? Did you get your badges back? What happened to…"

"Is this 20 Questions?" Ash interrupted. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Wouldn't you like to know."

"Now that the blizzard is over," Brock interrupted, "We should probably head towards Scootopolis."

"Yeah." Everyone agreed.

"One thing though." Aaron said. "LET ME OUT!"

TBC

A/N: I'm doing another Question and Answer thing at the end of the story. If you have any questions that aren't answered, and won't be answered in future chapters, either post them in reviews or P.M. me.


	24. A Promise for the Future

**Chapter 24: A Promise for the Future**

A few days later,

Our heroes were gathered at a resting spot while Brock made lunch and Mark told Ash how they had dragged Aaron to the closet when he tried to make a break for the door. Ash laughed when Mark had told him what Andy had joked about with Snorunt wanting a trainer. The Fire trainer had been right.

"I am so excited about this match." Aaron said changing the subject.

"Look at you." Marie said to her boyfriend. "You're on fire."

"You should cool off." Ash said.

Suddenly, a flash of light came from one of Ash's pokeballs and materialized. Before Aaron could see what pokemon had let itself loose, he froze into a block of ice.

"I was teasing him Snorunt." Ash said to the pokemon.

"Snow?" (Really?)

"THAT'S what happened to it." Mark said as Andy defrosted Aaron with his Rapidash.

"Runt!" (Hi)

"Yep." Ash said. "I caught him after the blizzard subsided. Last night, I found that Snorunt knows Ice Beam, he just has a little trouble with aiming."

"What do you mean?" Brock said.

"I'll show you." Ash said grabbing a tin can and got behind Snorunt.

"Snorunt! Ice beam on the can!"

"SNORUNT!"

The ice beam missed that can and froze and apple on the tree above it. The extra weight of the apple caused it to come off and hit Aaron on the head.

"OW!" Aaron exclaimed.

"See?" Ash said. "We just need to train some more."

"Tell me about it." Aaron stated rubbing his head.

Everyone laughed at that.

"Ralts" (Help!)

Mark stopped laughing and listened again.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked.

"Shhh." Mark said. "Listen."

Everyone quieted down.

"Ralts!" (Help!)

Mark got up and ran to the voice. A few seconds later, he came upon a Ralts lying on the ground.

"Ralts. The Feeling Pokemon. A Ralts has the power to sense the emotions of people and pokemon with the horn on its head. It takes cover if it senses any hostility." Mary's pokedex told them.

Brock felt the Ralts' forehead.

"It's burning up!" he announced.

0000

Back at the campsite, Brock cooked up one of his special stews and had Mark feed the Ralts. It got just a little bit better, but not enough.

"We probably should take it to a Pokemon Center." Misty said.

"Right." Everyone agreed.

Suddenly, a man came up to the gang.

"Ah. There you are Ralts." The man said. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

Ralts hid behind Mark in fear.

"If you're Ralts' trainer, then why is it scared of you?" Mary asked noticing Ralts' behavior.

Suddenly a Kirilia and a Gardevoir showed up. There was something weird about them. The Gardevoir looked a little too tall and the Kirlia looked overweight.

"Something doesn't add up." Aaron said pointing his pokedex at the Kirlia.

"Raticate. The Rat Pokemon. Its whiskers help it to maintain balance. Its fangs never stop growing, so it gnaws to pare them down."

"I thought so." Ash said. "Hello Cass and Butch."

"IT'S CASSIDY!"

"AND IT'S BUT…oh. That's what you said."

"Pikachu." Ash said.

"Static." Aaron added.

"Pika" (Right)

"PPPIIIIKKKKAAAAACCCCHHHHUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Mark. Get Ralts to the Center and meet us there." Marie said to the boy.

"Take Snorunt with you." Ash added

"Right." Mark said as he made a break for it.

0000

About halfway to the center, Ralts' fever went up.

"Hang in there Ralts." Mark told the pokemon. "We're halfway there."

"Sno. Runt." (I have an idea.)

Snorunt ran and gathered some berries and froze them with blizzard.

"Good idea." Mark said as he took one berry from the handful and put the rest in a handkerchief. He used the handkerchief as an ice pack and had Ralts suck on the other frozen one. The fever went down a little.

"Let's get going." Mark said to the two pokemon.

0000

Three-fourths of the way there,

"Not again." Mark said. He had run into a Kirlia and a Gardevoir.

"Kirlia." (Give us back our sister.)

"Oh." Mark said. "You're the real thing. Ralts needs to see a doctor. She's sick!"

Not being used to refusal and thinking the boy was kidnapping Ralts, Kirlia used Psychic. Snorunt started to jump between Kirlia and Mark, but Ralts was faster as she let loose a Safeguard.

Gardevoir and Kirlia looked shocked that their little sister was protecting a human.

"Listen." Mark said when Ralts stopped. "I'm only taking Ralts to the Pokemon Center. I'm too young to be a trainer. Once Ralts is completely healed, you can have her back. Just let me take her, so she can live."

"Gardevoir." (Very well)

"Kirlia?" (Are you serious?)

"Gardevoir Gar? Gardevoir. Devoir…" (I can predict the future. Remember? The boy is right. If she dies, then…)

"Kirlia." (Alright)

"Gardevoir." (Allow us to help)

"How?" Mark asked once he figured out what Gardevoir said.

With a flash of light the boy and four pokemon disappeared.

The next thing Mark knew, he was standing in front of the Pokemon Center.

"Thanks Gardevoir." Mark said.

"Gardevoir" (Save our sister.)

"Right" he said as he ran into the center.

0000

A few hours later,

Mark was sitting on the bench watching Nurse Joy tend to Ralts.

"You HAVE to pull through." Mark said to Ralts.

"Mark!" a female voice called.

Mark turned around to see the rest of the gang running towards him

"Mary!" Mark sobbed as he ran into his foster sister's arms.

"It's okay." She told him.

Suddenly,

DING

Everyone looked up as Nurse Joy came out of the operating room.

"It's a good thing you got Ralts here when you did." She explained. "She had a bad case of pneumonia."

"Will she be okay?" Mark asked worriedly.

Nurse Joy smiled.

"Yes. Thanks to you."

Mark smiled with relief.

0000

A few hours later when Ralts was perfectly healed, Mark and Ralts went out to the Center's garden.

"Gardevoir! Kirlia! Ralts is better!" Mark called.

"I guess the Ralts has a family." Marie whispered.

With two flashes of light, the Gardevoir and Kirlia appeared.

"Kirlia. The Emotion Pokemon. Kirlia uses the horns on its head to amplify its psychokinetic power. When the Pokemon uses its power, the air around it becomes distorted, creating mirages of nonexistent scenery. Kirlia is the evolved form of Ralts" Aaron's pokedex told them

"Gardevoir. The Embrace Pokemon. Gardevoir has the ability to read the future. If it senses impending danger to its trainer, the Pokemon is said to unleash its psychokinetic energy at full power. Gardevoir is the evolved form of Kirlia." Ash's pokedex added.

"Wow." Marie said.

"Didn't Ashley have a Kirlia?" Misty asked.

"Yes." Mary said. "And Chris has a Gardevoir."

"Just as I promised." Mark told the two pokemon.

"Kirlia. La." (You're not that bad kid)

"Thanks. I think."

"Gardevoir. Gar voir ." (Ralts. Time to say goodbye)

"Ralts? Ralts!" (What? No!)

Ralts ran and hugged Mark.

"I love you too Ralts." Mark said as he returned the hug. "I'll tell you what, when I get my trainer's license, I'll come back and get you. Is that okay?"

"Gardevoir" (I don't see why not)

"Ralts?" (Promise?)

"Yes Ralts. I promise"

With that, there were three flashes of light as the family of Ralts, Kirlia, and Gardevoir disappeared.

"GOODBYE RALTS!" Mark called.

Then there was a breeze. As the wind blew, Mark heard a voice talking to him.

"Don't forget your promise Mark. Don't forget to come get me."

00000

A few days later,

Mark was still a little depressed about the Ralts incident.

"Poor Mark." Misty said as she eyed the young boy sitting by a lake.

Ash got up and walked over to Mark. He spent a few minutes talking to the boy and when he was done, Mark got up and joined the gang with a true smile on his face.

"What did you do?" Aaron asked his brother.

"It was nothing." Ash said.

Flashback (a few seconds)

"_Hey." Ash said to the boy._

"_Hey." Mark answered._

"_Ralts won't forget you." Ash told him._

"_Why does this always happen to me?" Mark asked "First Shuppet, then Jirachi, and now Ralts. No sooner do I find a pokemon I want, I have to leave it." _

"_Mark." Ash said. "Do you remember what I told you about friends back when you were with Jrachi?"_

"_About them never leaving you as long as they're in your heart?" Mark confirmed._

"_Right. Ralts is in your heart, and from what I saw, you're in Ralts'. You'll be nine soon. After that, only a year to go."_

"_That's too long." Mark complained._

"_It will go by a lot faster than you think." Ash told him. "Heck, it seems like yesterday Marie declared her love for me thinking I was Aaron. The look on her face when she found out was classic. Even though, Misty yelled at me."_

_Mark laughed at that mental image._

"_You'll see Ralts again sooner than you think." Ash said. "Now c'mon. Brock has lunch."_

"_Thanks Ash." _

End Flashback

"You are on a role with kids." Aaron said to his brother. "First Molly, and then Mark twice. Is there anything else?"

Ash just shrugged.

0000

After Ash and Aaron earned their eight badge and Mary earned her fifth ribbon, they found themselves in Rosingberg. The people there were strange.

"Why is everyone starring at us?" Andy asked.

"Maybe because most trainers travel by themselves." Brock suggested

Misty took one of the people who was starring at the gang and followed her gaze. She was starring at Mary.

"They're looking at Mary." Misty told them.

"I wonder why?" Mark said.

"Excuse me! Why has traffic practically stopped?" a very familiar voice said.

"Jenny." Andy said starting to act like Brock.

"Not again." Marie sighed.

When Jenny caught sight of the gang, her mouth dropped.

"Mary?" she asked. "Mary White?"

TBC


	25. Mary and Julie’s Past

Previously:

"_They're looking at Mary." Misty told them._

"_I wonder why?" Mark said._

"_Excuse me! Why has traffic stopped?" a very familiar voice said._

"_Jenny." Andy said starting to act like Brock._

"_Not again." Marie sighed._

_When Jenny caught sight of the gang, her mouth dropped._

"_Mary?" she asked. "Mary White?"_

**Chapter 25: Mary and Julie's Past**

"I'm afraid you must be mistaken." Mary said. "I'm Mary O'Brien."

"But you were adopted." Mark reminded her. "For all we know, you could be Mary White."

"Why don't you come with me?" Jenny suggested

0000

When the gang got to the station, Jenny called Julie.

"Mrs. O'Brien? Would it be possible if you could come to Rosingberg?" Jenny asked.

"Of course." Julie said. "I still have my Alakazam. I'll be there as fast as a Pikachu's Quick Attack."

Julie hung up the phone. With a flash of light, she appeared in the police station in the town.

"Hi Mom!" Mark said as he hugged her.

"Hi Sweetie." Julie said returning the hug. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I was just wondering," Jenny said. "How did you met Mary?"

"Well," Julie started the story. "It was just after my eldest went off to become a trainer. My husband and I were just getting ready for our second child, Mark, when we sat down to talk. He had heard about how the world is full of orphans who needed good homes. So, we decided to adopt a child as well as have one of our own. That way, a child would know what it feels like to be loved."

Julie took a deep breath before continuing, "When we got to the orphanage in Viridian, it was horrible. The children were malnourished, the room temperature was below freezing, it was all I could do from adopting every single child in the room. A small, three year old girl humming the one song she could remember from her parents caught my attention. I remember asking her to teach it to me that way it would live longer. I talked to my husband and we decided to adopted Mary. By the time Mark came into the world, Mary was our daughter."

"So Mary was in the Viridian Orphanage?" Jenny asked.

"Yes." Julie said.

"Are Mary's birth parents still alive?" Mark asked in horror. If they were, he could loose his sister

Mary looked at Jenny with fear and hope mixed together in her eyes.

"I'm afraid not. In fact, everyone has been thinking Mary was killed with her parents." Jenny said. "If you would please come with me, I think showing you will be a better way."

0000

The gang found themselves in front of a HUGE mansion.

"Whoa!" Ash and Aaron said together.

"This place looks SO familiar." Mary said.

The gang entered the mansion to find it dark. What furniture was there was covered by white sheets.

"It looks haunted." Mark said.

"HELLO!" Mary yelled

"hello, hello, hello, hello," the echo answered.

Suddenly, a scrap of paper caught Misty's eyes.

"What's this?" Misty asked grabbing the paper.

She read it and paled.

"Misty? What's wrong?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

Misty handed him the letter. He read it and got an angry expression on his face.

"Aunt Julie? Who said that Mary's parents died in a car crash?" he asked.

"The person who ran the orphanage." Julie answered her nephew.

"You might want to read this." Ash told her handing her the letter.

She took the letter and read it carefully. When she finished, she gasped and paled.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked grabbing the letter and read it. She gasped and paled as she read the words with everyone else looking over her shoulders.

_Mr. and Mrs. Derrick White,_

_This is your last chance. If you do not cooperate with me and my followers, then you two and little Mary will pay with your lives._

_G. of T.R._

"I knew Derrick." Julie said in a whisper.

"Were her parents murdered?" Brock asked Jenny

She nodded.

Jenny explained how Mary's parents had been found murdered.

(A/N: I was going to give it more detail here, but I didn't want to gross anyone out or raise the rating.)

"What was my mother's name?" Mary asked

"Karla." Jenny told her

"Karla?" Julie repeated in horror

Jenny nodded. Julie turned deathly white.

"How many White families are there?" she asked.

"A good many." Jenny answered. "But only one couple of Derrick and Karla White"

Mary was crying over what had happened to her parents.

"Then what happened?" Aaron asked. "To Mary?"

Mary had her eyes closed as she tried to remember that night.

Flashback (Various)

"_Mary. Stay here and be quiet. No matter what." a woman's voice said. "If the men in black come towards you, hide."_

"_Okay Mommy" _

_0000_

"_Where are your parents little one?" another man asked the next morning.._

"_Dead. I saw a man kill them." Little Mary sobbed._

_0000_

"_That was a beautiful song." Another woman said._

"_My Mommy used to sing it for me before she died."_

"_Would you like to teach it to me? I'm sure my child would like to hear it."_

"_Where is he?"_

"_Well, I don't know if it's a he or a she. But it's right here." The nice woman said placing a hand on her stomach. "Would you like to feel?"_

"_Can I?" _

"_Of course." _

_Mary put her hand on the stomach and felt the infant kick._

"_I felt something!" _

_The woman smiled at the young girl._

"_It heard you." she explained. _

"_I'll teach you the song, Miss..." _

"_Julie."_

End Flashbacks

Tears were streaming down Mary's face as she remembered. Julie hugged the girl who hugged back.

"I can't believe I couldn't remember!" Mary sobbed as she related what she remembered.

"You were only three." Julie said kneeling down to look Mary straight in the eyes. "At least they died bravely."

"And you know the truth now." Andy said. "G of TR? What does that stand for?"

"TR is Team Rocket." Ash said.

"And the G is Giovanni." Julie stated. "He was my brother's rival during his training days. Dan made it his life's goal to stop that son of a…well, between work, the goal, raising a pair of twins, and keeping Delia from knowing too much, especially the danger involved, it got too stressful. I'm amazed he hasn't had a nervous breakdown yet."

"So, Team Rocket murdered my parents?" Mary asked.

"It's hard to remember that they are a really dangerous organization when you're used to facing Butch and Cassidy; Pearl and Heart; and Jessie and James." Aaron sighed. "No wonder Dad's scared for our safety."

0000

Outside the mansion, looking in,

"The boss actually murdered a couple?" Cassidy asked shaking in her uniform.

"I think we should pull a Pearl and Heart." Butch stated. "And just disappear."

"Good idea."

0000

Back in the mansion,

"Considering Mary is the last White," Jenny said handing the keys to Mary. "The mansion is now hers."

"WHOA!" the rest of the gang exclaimed.

"Here." Mary said handing the keys to Julie. "I'll be traveling for the next few years. You and…Dad can have the mansion."

"We'll keep it until you come of age." Julie said.

"If you need me, I'm going back to the station." Jenny said. "You can stay and look around."

"Thanks Jenny." Mary said.

"COME BACK!" Andy called after Jenny.

0000

A few hours later, Mary found herself in a room that looked like it belonged to, well, a three year old.

"Whoa!" Mary said when she saw how pink the room was after she turned on the lights.

The room was painted pink with stuffed Jigglypuffs, Igglybuffs, Wigglytuffs, Clefa, Clefairy, Clefable, Chancey, and Blissey. There were also a few stuffed Pikachus, Pichus, Chimechos, Togepi, and Smoochum.

"MARY! WHERE ARE YOU?" she heard Mark yell.

"In the Pink Room." She called.

The gang found her and looked shocked at the amount of pink.

"PiKA!"(MY EYES!)

"Too much pink." Misty said

"Mary." Julie said as she came up looking a bit pale. "I found something that I think you might want to see."

0000

The gang found themselves in the Master bedroom. There, Mary gapped at all the Ribbons and Trophies that either hung or stood on a shelf. Mary took one down and read one.

KARLA PORTER

"Mum? Wasn't that the name of your friend from training days?" Mark asked.

Julie nodded with tears in her eyes.

"We lost touch before I got married. She went in one direction and I went in another."

"So, you knew my mother?" Mary asked.

"Apparently so." Julie said as she looked around the room. "She never wrote to me to tell me that she got married. I never received her new address, so…"

She stopped when she caught sight of an envelope.

JULIE KETCHEM

Julie grabbed the envelope and ripped it open. The letter was dated 10 years ago. She read it out loud

"_Dear Julie,_

_Sorry it's been so long. We lost touch all of a sudden. I have so much to tell you. One thing is that I eloped. Yes, I, Karla Porter, eloped. You won't believe with who. Do you remember Derrick from Rosingberg? You know, that idiot who thought he was king of the world and I swore I'd never fall in love with him no matter how much you teased me about how I liked him? That's my husband. And that's not all. I have a little girl now. Her name is Mary. _

_Anyways, Derrick has been having trouble with Giovanni. I don't think I need to remind you who that idiot is considering you're brother's…feelings towards him. Just in case anything should happen, I've already written my will. Remember when we tied that one year at the Grand Festival and you said that I could keep the Trophy? Well, I hollowed out the base and placed it in there. Hopefully I won't be dead when you get this letter. I intend to send it the second I hear from you or one of your family members. _

_I have to go now. Mary is fussy about something. I swear if it's another diaper change, I'm putting Derrick in charge of it. Talk to you later._

_Karla Porter White_

_P.S. Have you heard from that scientist wanna-be, Richard?_

Julie was holding the letter with one hand and coving her mouth with the other one as she cried.

"Mom?" Mark asked worried.

"If only we had stayed in touch." Julie cried.

Mary, Misty, and Marie were also in tears.

"Don't loose touch when we separate!" Marie cried to Misty.

"I won't!" Misty sobbed.

"You'll be in-laws!" Aaron said to the girls

Ash was looking at the trophies and found the one that was mentioned.

KARLA PORTER AND JULIE KETCHEM

GRAND FESTIVAL CHAMPIONS

He took down the trophy and found the hidden chamber. Inside was a rolled up piece of paper.

0000

At the police station half an hour later,

"This is the legal will of Karla Porter White." Jenny said. "We've been looking everywhere for this."

"What does it say?" Brock asked.

_I, Karla Porter White, of sound mind and body (stop laughing Julie), do hereby declare my last will and testament._

_The wealth of the White family, including the possessions inside the White mansion in Rosingburg are to be given to my daughter, Mary. If she is not of age, then they are to be given to her godmother, whom shall be revealed later._

_Any of my pokemon that are still in the family are to be given to Mary if they do not wish to go back to the wild. I'm sure my daughter will treat them with the respect they deserve. After all, they won me the championship numerous times. Even though ever other year we were defeated. Julie._

"When we participated in the Grand Festivals," Julie explained. "We'd end up trading off the championship. Most people stopped coming because if I won the last year, then they'd know that Karla would win."

_The trophy that the will was discovered in is to be given back to Julie Ketchem. After all, it is half hers._

_To Daniel Ketchem, I leave him a sum of $100000 to help with he-knows-what. Just say to him that Karla wants Team Rocket gone as much as he does. If they're gone by the time this will is read, tell him to keep the money. He can find SOME use for it. Perhaps a little something for Delia if he does end up marrying her._

_Lastly, to my best friend from training days: Julie Ketchem. To you, I leave all of my ribbons, trophies, and my most prized possession:….no it's not Blaze, so keep your hands off him. It's the custody of my daughter, Mary. Yes, Julie, I named you my daughter's godmother without consulting you. Don't kill me. Wait a minute. If I'm dead, then you can't kill me. Writing wills can be so confusing._

_Don't cry for me. If I died a peaceful death, then I'm happy. If I was murdered by the son of a…please cover the ears of any women and children. Are the ears covered? Son of a…_

"Oh my." Jenny said as she looked at the rest of the sentence.

"Let me see." Julie said as she looked at the line. She bit her lip and shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "Just skip that word."

_Then I'm sure I died bravely._

_Yours truly,_

_Karla Porter White_

Julie was shaking her head in her hands.

"Mom?" Mark asked worried.

"That is SO Karla." Julie said laughing. "She always found a way to add humor to a serious situation."

0000

Half an hour later back at the mansion,

Mary and the rest of the gang were in the attack looking through Mary's inheritance. Suddenly, there was movement in a corner that nobody was in. (A ghost?)

"What was that?" Marie asked with a squeak.

"It's a trunk." Aaron told her as he noticed that some of the dust had been disturbed.

It had a label on it: KARLA'S POKEMON

"Here we go." Julie said as she opened the trunk. It had 18 Pokeballs in it. "Want to help?" she asked the kids.

"Sure" the gang answered

Each person grabbed two Pokeball and went out to the back yard.

0000

"Chances are they haven't been out in 10 years." Julie told the trainers. "COME ON OUT GUYS!"

The two pokeballs Julie threw opened up to reveal a Blaziken and a Gardevoir.

Everyone else threw a pokeball to reveal a Milotic, Noctowl, Delcatty, Luvdisc, Ledian, Furret, Xatu, Espeon, Ninetales, Raichu, Vileplume, Dewgong, Beautifly, Mightyena, Blissey, and Vaporeon.

"Were all of these my mother's?" Mary asked.

"Yes." Julie nodded. "Hi Guys! Miss me?"

"Vaporeon!" (Julie!)

The Vaporeon ran to Julie and tackled her to the ground.

"I missed you too Vapor!" Julie said with a laugh before turning to Mary. "We gave nicknames to some of the pokemon. Those with nicknames are Blaze, Gar, Bliss, Might, Beaut, Mill, Vapor, Owl, Catty, Love, Fur, Nine, Ray, Vile, and Lady."

"COME ON OUT!" Ash and Aaron yelled as everyone let loose their own pokemon to give the older ones some new friends.

As everyone played, Julie turned to Mary.

"I am so sorry I never realized that Karla was your mother." Julie said.

"It's okay. Like you said, I was only three. It's not like I could remember her." Mary told her.

"The good thing though, I do remember her." Julie said. "And she would be SO proud of you right now. If you want to know more about her, just ask."

"I think what might have happened," Ash said joining his aunt. "Was that you knew, deep down in your subconscious, that Mary was your friend's child. That's why she caught your attention."

"Possible." Julie said to her nephew.

"Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" Misty said to Ash. "I have NEVER heard you say a word like "subconscious" before."

"You'd be surprised about what I do know." Ash said. "Now that the mystery of Aaron and Lucario has been solved, you'll see a lot more of my brains."

"Good." Brock said as he joined the group. "I wanted to ask those friends of yours in Larousse if we were talking about the same Ash. They told me that you were one of the top in your class."

"Are you SURE our Ash and their Ash is the same Ash?" Misty asked Brock. "The same guy who would put a Caterpie against a Pidgeotto?"

"And a Pikachu against an Onix?" Brock added. "That's what I asked. But they asked if our Ash was rivals with Gary Oak and had a mother named Delia."

"Nice to know you two think so highly of me!" Ash told his friends sarcastically as the others laughed.

Suddenly, Karla's old Noctowl stopped talking to Ash's Noctowl and Swellow.

"What is it Owl?" Julie asked.

It suddenly used Foresight on thin air.

"What's it doing?" Mark asked his mother.

"Foresight." Julie told her son with her heart pounding on her chest. "Normally, it returns a pokemon's evasion to normal and allows normal and fighting attacks to be affective against ghost pokemon, but outside of battle, it can reveal ghosts."

"Ghost?" Marie squeaked.

"Marie's scared of ghosts." Aaron whispered to Mark.

The ghost materialized.

"Thank you Owl." The ghost said. It was the ghost of a woman with long hair. If she hadn't been a ghost, she would have had brown hair like Mary with blue eyes. "Took you long enough to get here, Jewels."

Julie just crossed her arms and attempted to look annoyed at the ghost. "Took YOU long enough to write. I wouldn't even be here if Jenny didn't recognize your daughter."

"Mary?" the ghost, Karla, asked looking at the girl in question. "Is that you?"

Mary nodded in shock. She was looking at her dead mother.

Karla turned back to Julie. "Make up your mind! Did you or did you not get my letter before my death?"

"I got it after." Julie said. "Today to be more precise. I found Mary at an orphanage in Viridian and I adopted her. I didn't even know she was your daughter until today."

"Fate works in mysterious ways." Karla said. "And who are these?"

"These are my nephews, Ash and Aaron; their girlfriends, Misty and Marie; their friends, Brock and Andy; my son, Mark; and their pokemon. Everyone, this is Karla…well, her ghost."

"Why didn't you go on?" Andy asked Karla's ghost.

"ANDY!" everyone scolded.

"It's okay." Karla said. "My husband went on, but I needed to stay and make sure Jewels found my will and that my pokemon and daughter were well taken care of."

"Are all of these pokemon now mine?" Mary asked her biological mother.

"Yes Darling." Karla said. "if there are any that you don't want, I'm sure Julie will take them."

"Even Blaze?" Julie teased

Karla just gave her friend a look.

"Hey! Twerps!" two voices called.

"Everyone turned to see Butch and Cassidy out of uniform.

"What are you doing here?!" Misty asked getting ready to sick Togetic on them.

"Relax." Butch said. "We overheard what happened to the Orphan Twerp's parents, and we decided to leave Team Rocket. We never knew that the job would include murder."

"We may be bad, but we're not THAT bad." Cassidy added.

"We just came to say "Goodbye"." Butch told them.

"See ya around Twerps!" they said as they left leaving the trainers in shock.

"That had to be the WEIRDEST encounter with Team Rocket I've EVER had." Ash said.

"For me, that's a toss up between this and when we ran into them in the Seafoam Islands before we met you." Aaron said.

"That's, what, the third section of Team Rocket who quit after they met us?" Andy asked.

"Third?" Karla and Julie asked.

"Yeah. Those two; Pearl and Heart; and Jessie and James." Marie said. "Jessie and James got married and are settled. Pearl and Heart, I think they're working in Rota."

"Does Dan know about you guys and Team Rocket?" Julie asked.

"Would we be here if he did?" Aaron replied.

"Anyways," Karla said changing the subject. "Mary looks healthy and relatively happy for someone who just found out her parents were murdered. You did a good job Jewels."

"Thanks. I had practice with my eldest."

"How many kids do you have?" the ghost asked.

"Three if you include Mary." Julie told her. "Christine is 20."

"We should have kept in touch."

"Yes."

"How's Dan? If these two are your nephews, then I'm assuming they're his kids."

"Got that right." Ash and Aaron said together earning a groan from Andy and Brock.

"Is he still fighting Team Rocket?" Karla asked.

"Not to my knowledge." Aaron said.

"From what I heard," Julie said. "He was so busy fighting Team Rocket, holding down a job, and raising the kids, he got so stressed out, he left most of the raising the kids job to Delia and she left him taking Ash."

"Oh no." Karla said.

"But these two found each other, switched, and got their parents back together." Mary told the ghost.

"That's good. Leave it to that…anyways. How many encounters have you had with Team Rocket?"

"Should we include the idiots who just quit?" Mary asked.

"Let ME rephrase." Julie said. "How many times have you met Giovanni?"

"Once/Once." Ash and Aaron said.

"You've **met** Giovanni?" Julie paled. She had been expecting a "haven't met him personally"

"Yeah." The twins said. "I don't think he recognized me though. He was focused on getting Mewtwo."

"He succeeded in cloning Mew?" Julie said growing even paler.

"Yes and no." Misty said. "Mewtwo is more of a super-clone of Mew. But he didn't like the way Giovanni was treating him, so he left."

A little bit of color came back into Julie's face.

"I had to battle Giovanni for the Earth Badge." Aaron told of his encounter. "He told me to tell Dad, what were his words?"

"Something like, "Just stay out of my way. And I'd advise you to tell your father to do the same." His glare at Aaron was full of loathing. Even Greg's and Aaron's glares at each other were more friendly." Andy told them.

"Don't tell your father." Karla said. "That's the last thing he needs right now."

"Don't worry." Aaron said. "I have no intention on telling Dad."

0000

After talking to the ghost of Karla for a little bit longer, she left the mansion to join her husband knowing that her daughter was with a good family. But she had a private word with Mary before she left.

"I have to go join your father now." Karla said. "I still can't believe how much you've grown."

"I've lived a good life." Mary told her. "Mo…Ju…I don't know what to call her now, but I've been loved."

"Mary." Karla told her daughter. "Don't be scared to call Julie your mother. I don't mind it at all."

"You don't?"

"No. In fact, I would prefer you call Julie your mother."

"Thanks. I just didn't want you to feel like that you were being replaced."

"Don't worry about that." Karla told her. "Just remember to do your best in the Grand Festival. Between both of your mothers and your sister (through Jewels), you have a lot to live up to. But always remember that your father and I will always be with you. He was a pretty decent coordinator himself."

"Mom mentioned it." Mary told Karla. "Mom? What was my Grandfather's name?"

"On my side?" Karla asked.

Mary nodded.

"Gabriel." She told her.

Mary smiled at the name. She had her suspicions.

"What?" Karla asked.

"Let's just say your grandson has done some time traveling." Mary said.

TBC

A/N: The good news is that the story is almost done. All that is left is the Grand Festival, the Hoenn League, and a little something about T.R.


	26. It Really is a Small World After All

**Chapter 26: It Really is a Small World After All**

"It's a Small World After All.

It's a Small World After All.

It's a Small World After All.

It's a Small, small World!"

Everyone, besides Andy, was covering their ears as Andy sang at the top of his lungs the most annoying song in the world.

"Why in the world are you singing that?" Marie asked him.

"Because it's true." Andy told her. "Both Mary's biological and foster mothers were best friends. Her foster mother is the younger sister of Ash and Aaron's father who is also the best friend of Misty's father. Mary's biological mother was murdered by Mr. Ketchem's arch rival, Giovanni, who was the gym leader of the Viridian Gym. Not to mention we found out earlier that Mary and Gary are going to get married and their kid will fall in love with Ash and Misty's kid who owns a Pikachu who is the offspring of Christine and Ash's Pikachus that were probably bred by Christine and Brock who will get married. Hey Misty? Did you ask yourself about any other small world things?" (A/N: Does that make sense?)

"When I asked myself about Brock's future girl," Misty explained. "I also asked about yours."

"Which Jenny is it?" Andy asked.

"I'm not telling." Misty said.

0000

"C'mon Snorunt!" Ash called. "Try it again."

Snorunt used ice beam again, but it missed the target…again. Aaron had taken it upon himself to start wearing a helmet when Ash worked with Snorunt.

"You're making Snorunt nervous!" Ash accused his brother.

"Excuse me?" Aaron told him. "I've been hit with frozen apples, branches, berries, apricots, and even pokemon. Don't go telling me I don't have the right to do this."

Marie and Misty laughed at the interaction between the brothers. Aaron did have a point. Snorunt seemed to like hitting trees causing thing to fall out. But it wasn't Snorunt's fault Aaron would be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"STOP THAT SANDWICH!" a voice yelled from the top of the hill.

Everyone turned to see a LARGE sandwich roll down the hill followed by a boy roughly the twins' age.

Ash and Aaron stopped the sandwich from progressing any further.

"Thanks." The boy said.

"No problem." Ash and Aaron answered.

The boy did double takes, closed his eyes, counted to five, and then opened them again.

"You're not seeing double." Andy told him. "They're identical twins."

"No kiddin'" the boy said. "I'm Morrison. And I'm going to compete in the Hoenn League."

"So are we." Ash said.

"I'm Aaron. And this is Ash."

"How many badges have you got?" Morrison asked.

"Eight." They both answered. "You?"

"Seven." Morrison sighed.

"There's still time." Ash said

"Do you want to battle?" Aaron asked Morrison. "It'll be nice battling someone I've never met after weeks of battling these six."

"Ok." Morrison said taking out a pokeball.

0000

After battling Morrison's Beldom, and winning, Aaron let Ash try the new guy out. Because of the experience difference due to the fact Morrison's family didn't let him start training until this year for some reason, Ash won.

"That was quite a battle." Misty said as the group ate dinner with Morrison in the Pokemon Center.

"It's nice to see different styles after weeks of the same five over and over and over and…" Aaron stated.

"We get it." Mary said. "We need more pokemon."

"You'll do fine in your battle for the Rain badge." Ash told Morrison.

"I hope so." Morrison said.

After saying their goodbyes the next morning, Morrison headed off to Scootopolis, while our heroes headed to the Grandfestival so Mary could make an attempt to follow in the footsteps of both of her mothers, her biological father, and her foster sister.

0000

"Okay." Mary said coming out of the Pokemon Center. "I'm registered."

"MARY!" a female voice called.

Mary turned to the voice and a smile grew on her face.

"MAY!"

The gang turned to the direction Mary was running in and saw a girl with brown hair wearing a red bandana a couple of years older than Mary running towards her. When they met, they gave each other a friendly hug. Behind the girl, a boy with green hair and a younger boy with black hair and glasses followed.

"MARK!" the younger boy yelled

"MAX!" Mark yelled back.

"I see you made it." May said to her childhood friend.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Mary said before turning to the green haired boy. "You must be Drew."

"And you must be Mary." Drew replied.

"Before I forget, these are my friends…" Mary started

"AAGGGGHHH!!!" Max screamed. "YOU TWO ARE ASH AND AARON FROM PALLET! YOU TWO TIED AT THE JOHTO LEAGUE; ASH WON THE INDIGO LEAGUE; AND AARON WON THE TOURNAMENT AT ROTA! I SAW THAT LAST ONE IN PERSON!"

"They're also my cousins." Mark told his friend

Max was speechless.

"It's nice to see you again Marie." May said shaking Marie's hand.

"You know each other already?" Mary asked.

"Yes. We were in Rota at the same time." Marie explained.

"It's a world of laughter…" Andy started to sing.

"You'll have to tell me about ALL your adventures." May said to her friend.

"Likewise." Mary added.

"Guess who." A voice said from behind May.

Mary looked to see Caroline (May's mother) put her hands over her daughter's eyes.

"Mom!" May yelled when she turned and hugged her mother.

"How many reunions will we have before you come home?" another voice said from behind the crew.

Everyone turned to see Julie again.

"Hi Mom." Mary said with a laugh.

"What about me?" Richard asked coming from behind Julie.

"Hi Dad." Mark added.

"I was wondering when I'd see my little sister here." A third voice said from a different direction.

Everyone turned to see Christine and Gary.

"What are you doing here Gary?" Ash asked.

"I have my reasons Ashy-boy." Gary told his ex-rival.

"Uh huh. What are they?" ANOTHER voice said from behind Gary.

Gary turned and got the surprise of his life.

"May?"

"That's my name!" May from Petalburg said.

"Actually, I'm older than you." The other May said. "So it's really MY name."

"What are you doing here?" Gary asked the blond girl behind him.

"Is that the greeting you give your sister whom you haven't seen in 6 years?"

(For purposes to avoid confusion, Mary's friend will be May P. while Gary's sister will be May O.)

"Just answer." Gary said annoyed.

"I heard a rumor that you were in town, and since I haven't seen you in so long, I thought, 'even though I'm heading back to Pallet, this way will at least give me more of a guarantee that I'll see my baby brother again.' But I didn't expect to see this much of a reunion."

She turned to Ash, then to a confused Aaron.

"Grandpa mentioned a twin." She said half to herself. "How are you two doing?"

"I'm fine." Ash said. "Everyone, this is…."

"She's MY sister!" Gary interrupted. "_I_ get to introduce her. Everybody, this is my older sister May Oak. May, this is everybody."

"Oak?" Max asked. "As in Professor Oak?"

"Our Grandfather." May O. explained. "Since our parents worked so much, Grandpa practically raised us. When he got too busy, we'd go over to Mrs. Ketchem's house next door and play with Ash. She's like a second mother and Ash was like a second brother."

"YOU KNOW PROFESSOR OAK?!" Max asked Ash.

"Who do you think gave me Pikachu?" Ash asked the younger boy.

"Pikachu" (Yeah)

"I remember you." May O. said to Pikachu. "I was home visiting when Grandpa caught you. You were quite the troublemaker."

"Still is in a way." Ash added.

"Pika?" (Who me?)

"Don't give me that." Ash said. "I know you've been sneaking ketchup causing us to constantly run low."

"Pi pika Pikachu" (Buy some more then.)

0000

During the Grand Festival, Mary met a lot of fellow coordinators courtesy of May P. A lot of people recognized Julie from photos and videos of her own training days, so she spent a great deal of time giving autographs to trainers who wanted it.

"Karla would have enjoyed this." Mark heard his mother sigh after sighing another autograph.

"Mrs. O'Brien. How wonderful to see you again." Mr. Contessa said when he saw Julie.

"I'm here supporting Mary this tournament." She told him.

"Ah yes." Mr. Contessa said looking at Mary. "You have a lot to live up to young lady. Between your mother and sister."

"Not to mention my biological parents." She added with a sigh.

"Did you find out who they were?" May P. asked.

Mary nodded. "Derrick and Karla White."

"It's no wonder you're doing so well." Mr. Contessa told her. "Between spending your time with Julie Ketchem and Christine O'Brien, and the blood of Derrick White and Karla Porter running in your veins, you'll go far."

"Thanks." Mary told the chairman.

0000

The rest of the Festival went normal. Mary defeated May P.'s arch rival Harley who was an annoying idiot. However, Mary's luck was not to last. She was defeated in the next battle by May P. May P. was defeated by her boyfriend, Drew, in the semi-finals. He was defeated by Robert in the finals. Christine didn't participate this year.

0000

"Well, we have to get home." Julie said to her daughter after the festival.

"Me too." Caroline added. "I'll see you later, Sweetie."

"Okay Mom." May P. said.

"I have to get back to the lab." Gary said. "You were great Mary."

"Thanks." She answered blushing.

"Do we HAVE to?" Christine asked Gary in a whine. She had been having a great time hanging out with Brock.

"Yes we do." Gary told her.

"We'll meet again." Brock told the coordinator/researcher/breeder

"We better." She told him. "If not, I'm coming after you."

"I hope we'll meet again." Andy told May O. "It's been fun."

"Yes." May O. said with a small blush. "And if not…you'll make a great gym leader."

It was all Misty could do to keep from bursting out in a fit of giggles. Ash saw the reaction.

0000

That night on the way to Evergrande,

"What was so funny?" Ash asked his girlfriend after everyone else fell asleep.

"Remember when I said earlier that I knew about Andy's future girlfriend?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"He doesn't marry a Jenny. He marries May Oak." She whispered.

Ash groaned at the fact that it truly was a small world.

"What?" Misty asked. "Can't stand the fact that your rival's sister will marry one of your friends?"

"It's not that." Ash told her. "Andy was right. It IS a small world. I didn't want to tell you, but…May was…May was…myfirstcrush."

"Your first crush?" Misty repeated.

Ash nodded.

"So?" Misty asked. "I've had plenty of crushes before you came along. You were just my biggest one."

"Same here." Ash said as they kissed.

When they pulled out,

"I wonder what Gary would have to say about the fact that Andy will marry his sister." Ash pondered.

TBC

A/N: In case you haven't figured it out, the P. in May P. stands for Petalburg while the O. in May O. stands for Oak. Just so you know.


	27. The Hoenn League

A/N: Two more Chapters and the Epilogue! Almost done! Then I can actually start with my four Harry Potters that are in the making: The Aftermath, The Trip, Parental Reaction, and The Heir of Gryffindor

**Chapter 27: The Hoenn League**

It's been two months since the Grand Festival. Since then, not only did Snorunt master Ice Beam, but he evolved. Ash was a happy camper about that. Butch and Cassidy weren't kidding when they said that they'd quit.

"I have an idea." Ash whispered to Aaron one night.

"What?"

"Let's help Dad with the Giovanni problem." Ash told him.

"How?"

"I remembered what I told myself a few years back."

Flashback

"_NEVER use the Pokemon you capture with them in battles for titles. They are only to be used when you battle evil like Team Rocket."_

End Flashback

"We send our legendaries to defeat Team Rocket?" Aaron asked as to clarify.

"Right." Ash said. "I think we have all of the legendaries." (A/N: That is to my knowledge)

"That's 18 pokemon at once if we include Jirachi." Aaron stated with a smirk. "Giovanni won't know what hit him."

"We can have Latios, Latias, and Celebi show the Rocket Members exactly what Giovanni did to Karla and Derrick White. That should make most of them want to leave." Ash plotted. "The larger pokemon can destroy their Headquarters. Mew can locate them."

"Let's discuss this with them." Aaron interrupted.

"Right." Ash said reaching into his bag and pulling out his 9 golden balls.

0000

The next morning,

"Wakey, wakey." Andy said to the twins.

"I won't ask." Aaron groaned. The twins had been up all night plotting the destruction of Team Rocket without the loss of life on their side.

"C'mon Aaron. You and Ash have to register for the Hoenn League today." Marie said.

"I'm awake." Aaron said not completely meaning it.

"Let's go." Ash said with a yawn.

0000

The gang made it to Evergrande City where they met Tyson and his Meowth in Boots. Tyson was the torch bearer.

"Brings back memories." Ash said as he watched Tyson run while he and his friends rode in the limo with Mr. Goodshow.

"So, are you two ready for the tournament?" Mr. Goodshow asked.

"As we'll ever be." Aaron answered.

"I can't wait." Mary said. "May told me about all the restaurants in Evergrande."

At the mention of May's name, Andy snapped out from his daydreaming.

"Her May." Misty told him "Not May Oak."

"Oh." Andy said before going back to starring out the window.

"Is he okay?" Aaron asked.

"Let's just say that future Andy doesn't marry Jenny." Ash whispered with a wink.

"Ohhhh." Aaron said getting the hint.

When the gang stepped out, the place was crawling with Officer Jennys. Marie braced herself for the cries of Andy, but they never came.

"He's cured." She cheered to herself.

"Our two girl-crazy friends have been cured by my cousin and my ex-rival's sister who happens to have been my first ever crush." Ash realized. "Weird how fate turns things around."

"Tell me about it." Aaron said.

0000

It was the last day for registration and the twins were with their pokemon doing some last minute training.

"STOP THAT SANDWICH!" a familiar voice called.

The twins grinned at each other and saw the sandwich rolling towards them. They stopped it.

"Thanks." Morrison said to them when he caught up to the food. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Morrison." They greeted.

"Glad you could make it." Aaron said to him.

"Thanks." Morrison said. "I got the last badge."

"Great!" Ash said. "So you're registered?"

Pause

"I have to register?" Morrison asked.

"You better hurry." Misty said. "Registration ends in 10 minutes."

"YOU'RE KIDDING! I'LL BE BACK!" Morrison said before taking off in a fast run.

"This is going to be so much fun." Mark said.

The group followed him and found the other trainer signing up just in time.

"Okay." Morrison said. "NOW I'm registered."

"Hey guys." Tyson said as he entered the building.

"Hey Tyson." The gang greeted.

"Who?" Morrison asked.

"Morrison. This is Tyson. He's another trainer." Aaron introduced.

"Nice to meet ya." Morrison said shaking Tyson's hand.

"Pleasure is all mine." Tyson said. "Are you three ready for the preliminaries?"

"Oh yeah." The twins said.

"What are pre-lim-in-aries?" Morrison asked.

"You're kidding?" Ash said. "They're one-on-one battles to narrow down the contestants for the League. The actual league doesn't start until AFTER the number of trainers is narrowed down. I believe that the number for this league is 160."

"You're joking!" Morrison said.

"Nope." Brock said equally shocked, but for a different reason.

"ASH! AARON!"

The twins turned to see Jimmy, Marina, Vincent, Casey, Richie, and Kira heading towards the twins.

"Hey guys!" the twins greeted their friends.

"Are you two ready?" Richie asked.

"Oh yeah." The twins said.

"You still owe me that rematch." Ash reminded Richie. "And this time, I won't be kidnapped by Team OUCH! AARON!"

Aaron had elbowed him HARD in the ribs.

"Ixnay." Aaron said pointing to the door.

Daniel and Delia Ketchem had just walked in carrying Emily and Elizabeth, and were looking around for the twins.

"Rockmmmph?" Richie started to finish the sentence before Ash covered his friend's mouth.

"Shhh." Ash warned. "My Dad HATES them. If he knew about that, I won't be able to leave the house again."

"Ash!" Emily called as she spotted her brother.

"Aawon!" Elizabeth called.

The parents turned to where the twin girls were looking and smiled when they saw their sons. Dan gave Ash a look because his hand was still over Richie's mouth. Ash pulled it away.

"He's was going to reveal something." Ash explained as his mother hugged Aaron.

"And that would be…?" Delia asked as she hugged Ash.

"When…when I'm thinking of…proposing to Misty." Ash lied.

"Soon?" Brock asked excitedly as Richie gave Ash a confused look.

"I'm not saying." Ash said. "Ruin that bet that's going around."

Misty gave Brock a death glare.

0000

After the preliminaries, everyone made it to the second half of the tournament. In the first round Marina was the first to get disqualified when a trainer defeated her. Tyson defeated Jimmy; Morrison defeated Vincent (a hard battle); Aaron defeated Kira (again); and Ash had his rematch against Richie. Since Ash's pokemon were all healthy, he had very little trouble defeating Richie (VERY little. Richie put up a great battle).

Also, May O. Christine, Adam, Lauren, Clara, Thomas (Aaron's Typhlosion's old master), and Gary made an appearance during Ash's battle with Richie. The arrival of May O. and Christine made Brock and Andy VERY happy.

0000

"I told you" Ash told Richie. "If…Team you-know didn't capture me, I would have wiped the floor with you."

"You've been training ten times more than usual." Richie defended. "That's the only reason."

"Didn't I tell you I was going to be the greatest Pokemon Master in the Universe?"

"C'mon guys!" Mark said "the next battles will be posted in a few minutes."

"Let's go see who we're up against." Tyson said as they ran to the screen.

They looked up and found the pairing: Aaron vs. Bob; Tyson vs. Casey; and Ash vs. Morrison.

"Who's Bob?" Aaron asked.

"I guess we're up against each other." Casey said to Tyson.

"I have to go." Morrison said as he ran out of the Center.

"What's his problem?" Jimmy asked.

"I don't think he's ready to battle a friend." Aaron said

0000

Durning the next round, Tyson defeated Casey, Aaron defeated Bob, and Ash was having a little more trouble getting a good battle. His opponent wasn't putting up a fight.

"Glalie! Ice beam!"

"Dodge Girafirig!" Morrison yelled.

"Why isn't Morrison attacking?" Casey asked.

"He doesn't want to battle Ash." Brock explained.

"Chances are he'd act the same if he was battling you." Marie said to her boyfriend.

"Do you want to know what's worse?" Aaron asked. "Ash confided in me that if a trainer doesn't try his or her hardest against him, Ash takes it as an insult."

Everyone within hearing range cringed.

"This isn't good." Dan said. "Ketchems don't take to insults lightly. We either get over sensitive or…"

"Extremely angry and competitive against everyone they know?" Gary suggested

"Yes." Dan said.

"Tell me about it." Gary said rolling his eyes as he remembered how Ash used to act.

Marie and Andy just turned to Aaron with knowing looks.

"What?" Aaron asked them as Glalie defeated Girafirig.

"Girafarig is unable to battle! Glalie wins the round!"

The light behind Girafarig's picture turned off. Morrison now had four pokemon while Ash had six. This time, Morrison made no move to pull out his next pokemon.

After a few minutes passed, the referee made to disqualify Morrison due to forfeit.

"Ash won't allow it." Richie predicted when he saw what the referee was going to do as he remembered when he himself had asked the ref to wait a little while longer for Ash.

"WAIT!" Ash yelled at the ref. "GIVE HIM SOME TIME!"

Then, Ash turned towards Morrison. He looked angry.

"MORRISON! WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? YOU WERE DOING GREAT BEFORE! DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR POKEMON?" Ash yelled clear across the field.

"OF COURSE I DO!" Morrison yelled back.

"YOU SURE HAVE A FUNNY WAY OF SHOWING IT!" Ash responded "THEY'RE FIGHTING FOR YOU, AND THE ONLY THING YOU'RE TELLING THEM IS TO DODGE! IF I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU BATTLE BEFORE, I'D BE QUESTIONING HOW YOU EVEN GOT THIS FAR! TO WIN BATTLES, YOU HAVE TO DEFEAT THE OTHER TRAINER'S POKEMON!"

"I KNOW THAT!"

"THEN PROVE IT!"

"GROWLITHE GO!"

"Now it's going to get good." Gary said with his smirk.

For once, Gary was right (Gary: Hey!). Once Ash snapped Morrison out of his depression over having to battle a friend, Morrison started to begin winning some of the battles. However, with Ash's head start, Ash won.

0000

"Thanks for snapping me out of it." Morrison said to Ash after the battle as they waited for the new pairing.

"No problem." Ash said. "I probably should have warned you that I take a trainer not trying his hardest against me as an insult. And, as you saw, I don't take those well."

"Yeah." Misty agreed before turning to Brock. "How many times did we have to hold Ash back after a Gary insult?"

"I think…digletts, fossil," personally, "twice at least. The others he was too fast for us, but was stopped by something else."

"The only reason I was actually doing it was to get you moving. I wanted good competition and I felt you could provide it." Gary admitted to Ash.

"You should have said something." Ash said "Instead of calling me a looser. We lost years of friendship because of that."

"The new pairing have been placed." Mary stated.

They looked up and found that it was Ash vs. Tyson and Aaron vs. Christopher.

"Why do I always get the strangers?" Aaron asked.

"This will be good." Tyson said to Ash.

0000

After Aaron defeated Christopher in the semi-finals, Ash defeated Tyson in a very close battle.

It was time for the finals.

TBC


	28. A New Attack and a New Frontier

**Chapter 28: A New Attack and a New Frontier**

"Here we go again." Marie said looking at the final battle pairing even though everyone in the crowd knew.

Ash vs. Aaron.

"The question is," Misty said. "Who will win this time?"

"Me." Both of the twins answered.

"Great. We're just in time." A familiar female voice said from the doorway.

"MOM!" Mark, Mary, and Christine called when they saw their mother.

"Julie!" Dan exclaimed.

"Hi Danny." Julie teased.

Dan gave her a death glare.

"Talk about a family reunion." Matthew Ketchem's voice came from behind Julie.

"Mom? Dad?" Dan and Julie asked.

"Arthur! Everyone's here!" the voice of Rose Knight called.

"Mom? Dad?" Delia asked when she saw her parents. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to see our grandsons' final battle in the Hoenn League." Arthur explained.

"Wow." Aaron said. "Everyone's here."

"Not everyone." Professor Oak said. "Tracey says "hi" to everyone and "Good luck" to Ash and Aaron."

"Grandpa?" May O. and Gary asked.

"So, these are the famous Oak kids." A man in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses said as he came in.

"Everyone," Professor Oak said. "This is Scott of the Battle Frontier."

"Nice to meet ya." Scott said.

"Who else is coming?" Aaron joked. "the Elite Four."

"Now that you mention it…" Scott said. "I DID see Agatha in town an hour ago. And Bruno WAS on the move in this direction. Lorelei was also heading towards Evergrande."

"And Lance?" Delia asked.

"Wanted to, but had a G-man mission." Scott said. "He sent a message for the Ketchem twins."

"What was it?" Ash asked.

"Good…"

"Luck." Lance's voice came from the doorway.

Everyone turned to see Lance walk in.

"I thought you…" Scott started.

"I thought so too." Lance said. "But all of a sudden, the scenery changed to a forest and we saw Giovanni kill a man and a woman. We saw Celebi and Latias, so we figured that this was a scene from the past. Half of the members of Team Rocket made a break for it not wanting anything to do with murder. Then the siren went off and someone on the intercom said that we were being attacked by practically every single legendary pokemon known to man. In the confusion, I saw a bluish-purplish cat-like pokemon and he motioned to me. I followed it."

"What was it?" Professor Oak asked.

"He introduced himself as Mewtwo telepathically." Lance explained. Ash and Aaron grinned at each other. "He told me that he knew that I wasn't really a Rocket and then inform that Mew would get me out. Mew suddenly appeared next to me and teleported me out to the top of the cliff away from Rocket Headquarters. After everyone got out, the building collapsed. Jenny and the rest of the squad appeared. I told her about the scene from the past shown by Celebi, Latias, and Latios. Those three even appeared and showed the same memory. Jenny arrested the Rocket Members on the spot. There was time to spare, so I headed here."

"Was…?" Dan asked.

Lance nodded.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.

(A/N: TEAM ROCKET'S DOWN! YEAH!)

"So," Julie asked her brother. "What are you going to do with the 100 grand Karla left you?"

"What?" Daniel asked in surprise.

"Well, when the kids were in Rosingberg, Jenny recognized Mary as Karla's daughter. I went over there via my Alakazam. There, we found Karla's will which left you, my dearest brother, a sum of 100,000 dollars to aid in that tiny project you were working on to get rid of you-know-what. She said that if they're gone by the time you get the money, you can use it however you wanted. She also suggested something for Delia."

"What project?" Delia asked suspiciously.

"Bait to lure Team Rocket out in the open." Dan explained to his wife before turning to his sister. "How did she die?"

"Remember what Lance JUST said about the man and woman being murdered by Gio?" she asked.

"Yea…Oh no." Dan whispered as realization dawned on him. "You're best friend?"

"Ironic how my best friend was murdered by YOUR arch-rival and I ended up adopting her child."

"Really ironic." Richard said.

"If you need us," Aaron said. "We're going to rest for the battle."

He paused and looked at Jimmy and Marina who were holding hands.

"Uh. Jim? Why are you holding Marina's hand?"

"Took you long enough." Marina said.

"We got over our denial." Jimmy told his friend.

0000

The next day,

Everyone waited on the edge of their seats (including the Elite Four). The final battle of the Hoenn League was taking place. Ash and Aaron traded off winning the battles. Now, it was one to one. Pikachu vs. Static (again)

"PIKAAA PIKACHU" (GO PIKACHU!) Christine's Pikachu yelled

"I think Electra likes Pikachu." Brock told Christine.

"Yeah. We could get little Pichus running about soon." She told him.

"Can't we at least wait for Ash and Misty first to do it first?" Andy joked earning a whack from Misty.

"THUNDER!" Both trainers yelled.

Instead of going straight into thunders, the Pikachus waited and gathered energy. Dark storm clouds started to form around the stadium.

"PPIIIIIIKKKKKAAAAAAAAACCHHHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!"

There was an explosion in the middle of the field as both Pikachus were hit. Everyone had to shield their eyes.

"PIKACHU!"

"STATIC!"

"Those were no thunders." Professor Oak observed.

"What were they Grandpa?" May O. asked.

"Pipikapikachu" (Thunderstorm) Electra explained. "Pika Pikachu pipika" (only the strongest Pikachus learn it.)

Christine translated her Pikachu for the others.

"NEITHER PIKACHUS ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE! THE BATTLE IS A DRAW!" the referee yelled.

This caught everyone's attention as they turned to see Ash and Aaron pick up their fallen pokemon.

"You were great." They said to their pokemon

"We tied again." Aaron said.

"I know." Ash added "We have got to stop that."

0000

In the Pokemon Center,

"That was quite a battle." Scott said. "Have you two heard of the Battle Frontier."

"We've heard of it." Ash said.

"We were thinking of doing it next, but we don't know where the gyms are." Aaron stated.

"Well, for one thing, they aren't really gyms." Scott told them. "They're battle stations. And the "gym leaders" are call "Frontier Brains." There are seven stations. At each station, you battle the Frontier Brain and, if you win, receive a Frontier Symbol. You are given the location of six of the seven stations. Once you earn your last one, then you are given the location of the last one."

The twins looked at each other and then to their friends.

"We'll do it." They told Scott.

"Excellent." Scott said. "You can start whenever you're ready."

"I think we'll go home for a while first." Ash said looking at his mother.

"Good idea." Delia said. "We probably should be heading home."

"Why don't we all travel together?" Aaron suggested.

"Excellent!" Delia exclaimed. "I'll cook a HUGE celebration meal."

"I'll be eating leftovers for a year." Dan mumbled to himself. He knew his wife's definition of "huge".

"We'll all meet back in Pallet." Delia said ignoring her husband. "ALL of use."

When she said that, she gazed at the other trainers her sons made friends with.

"Why don't we meet at the lab?" Professor Oak suggested. "There's more room."

0000

After everyone left except for Scott and Lance,

"Why didn't you tell them about what happens if they beat Brandon?" Lance suggested.

"Must have slipped my mind." Scott said.

Lance gave him a look.

"I wasn't sure how'd they'd accepted the fact that if they beat the last Frontier Brain, they become candidates for their own Battle Station." Scott admitted.

"I'm not sure." Lance said thinking about the dilemma. "I guess we'll have to wait to find out."

The End

A/N: Stay tune for the Epilogue and the Question and Answers. I'll give you a couple of more days for the questions, then I have to answer them.


	29. Epilogue

**The Completely Useless Epilogue Because They Almost Never Turn Out How I Write Them **

After EVERYONE met back up in Pallet, Delia cooked a HUGE meal. Practically everyone was there from the Elite Four to trainers who would be starting this upcoming year.

Ash, Aaron, and the rest of the gang traveled through the Battle Frontier. Mary concentrated on the Contests while Ash and Aaron concentrated on the Frontier Symbols.

Jimmy, Marina, and Vincent decided to train for the Johto League again while Richie and Kira participating in the Indigo League. Morrison and Tyson also headed to Johto.

The Ketchem twins had been told about the Thunderstorms. They also found that the two also knew Volt Tackle. This was discovered when Pikachu's cheeks started sparking during a Quick Attack.

**Question and Answers**

A/N: I know the Epilogue wasn't much. After comparing the stories to the Epilogues from the others, I've decided that too much detail should not be given away. I realized I set myself up for ANOTHER sequel (if not two or three), so I already know. However, do **_NOT_** expect it soon. I have at least four other stories to work on as well as the One-shot stories. Now, time for the questions.

dudek: _What about team rocket? Are you going to have them go to Sinnoh and get the legendary pokemon there? Are you going to do a sequel?_ **Team Rocket has been disbanded. As for the sequel, see above author's note.**

Paradise: _i was wonderin if u could actually write a chapter where Dan finds out about TR kidnappin and battlin wiv Aaron and Ash, really would like to know how he woulds react, i don't think Delia would be suprised as she already seen Ash battle TR when she got her Mr Mime. _**I'll probably have something about that in the sequel.**

Jarkens: _Now can you EXPLAIN how they got over it? Did Vincent push them together or something_? **See sequel when it comes.**

Jarkens: _What does it mean?_ **Karla had pulled Mary aside. Mary had suspected that she would end up getting married to Gary. She asked her biological mother for the name of her grandfather. She discovered that she will name her son after her biological grandfather. I think that's what you were asking.**

Pandagirl08: _Who is older?_ **Ash**

Kage Mistress of Shadows: _Are you going to do Sinnoh?_ **I wasn't planning on it, but I will. Just give me some time.**

Jarkens: _Isn't Professor Rowan from Diamond and Pearl? How'd you get his dub name long before it was even announced?_ **To tell you the truth, I had made it up at the time the story was written. I had no clue that it was the name of a Professor in the show/game.**

Paradise: _so thts wat mostly happens in the 7th movie? im confused is tht the end of the movie chapter? wat happened to Ash, Aaron and Tory?_ **Basically.** **Ash and Aaron continued on their journey and Tory stayed in Larousse and trained the Pichus (or Plusle and Minun if you're asking about the movie)**

Paradise_: brought one wat?_ **One of those Wishing stars from the sixth video.**

Paradise: _who professor rowan_? **A professor from Dan's training days. The twins met him on Dewford.**

Ghost: _What do you or anyone else think of that idea?_ **It's interesting.**

Jarkens: _WHY DO YOU HAVE TO REPEAT THE ANIME?_ **The anime is what I have to go by, besides, I personally think it's funny how they have identical situations when they're identical twins.**

Gina: _Wasen't it day time?_ **Yes, but Aaron had done the training at night. Besides, I wanted them to have two different evolutions.**

A/N: One last thing, the next sequel will begin with the celebration dinner with everyone talking and eating.


End file.
